Viña Bosconia Gran Reserva 2004

R. López de Heredia is one of Rioja's most traditional houses, and Viña Bosconia Gran Reserva is built on patience. The blend is led by Tempranillo with Graciano, Garnacha and Mazuelo, grown on the calcareous clay soils of the Rioja Alta, where altitude and a continental climate hold acidity in the long-aged wines. The grapes are picked ripe and fermented in the old way before a remarkably long spell in oak, racked twice a year so the wine clears naturally. That extended barrel ageing drives slow oxygen exchange, which softens the tannin and develops the tertiary leather, tobacco and dried fruit character that defines the house. The wine is clarified with fresh egg whites and bottled unfiltered. It is garnet with a brick rim and aromas of dried red berries, fig and leather over tobacco, earth and sweet oak. The palate is medium bodied, fully resolved, with fine tannin, fresh acidity and a long, savoury finish. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees in a Burgundy glass, decanted off any sediment. It pairs with roast lamb, game and aged cheese.