Rioja

Telmo Rodriguez Altos de Lanzaga 2005

I think most people would agree that Telmo Rodriguez’s wines are modern in style, so it’s surprising to see that he uses many old school techniques like big concrete fermenters, and big old wooden vats (with a bit of modern know how).

This is Telmo’s top wine from Rioja and he pulls out all the stops here. He has 10 acres of vines in a number of plot that is located up in north east of Rioja around the village of Lanciego for this wine. The vineyards are managed along Biodynamic lines, with an average vine age of 70 years and very low crop levels (at times under 400 Kg/acre). And while you could describe Telmo’s wines as modern, he uses some old school techniques too. The grapes used here are trodden in big concrete lagres, then fermentation occurs in big, open wooden vats.

One of the criticisms I’ve had about this wine in the past is the amount of high toast french oak is used. The fruit is up to that kind of treatment, and from what I’ve seen of older vintages the wood does integrate after a couple of years in the cellar. It’s not unusual for this level of oak in modern Rioja (or any where else in the world for that matter), but personally I’d like to see it turned down a notch or two. If bags of new oak and young, exceptional fruit blows your skirt up, you’ll love this. Otherwise, give it 2-5 years in the cellar before cracking a bottle.

Deep and dark red in colour, with some purple towards the rim. Plenty of heady wood aromas to start with: chocolate, espresso, vanilla bean and freshly cut wood. Underneath, bright fresh fruit comes through: dark cherry, plum and blue berry. Its very tight and young but shows a lot of promise. Plenty of texture in the mouth and the fruit is well done, restrained and just the right level of intensity and concentration. Dark cherry, plum, cola, mocha coffee, cinnamon and plenty of earthy minerals. The finish is long with a brush of soft fruit tannins. This will come out of the cellar after 5 years looking very smart. 93+ Pts

Source: The Spanish Acquisition RRP: $170 Closure: Conventional Cork