La Rioja Alta Viña Ardanza Reserva Review

The 2015 vintage is the current release for this wine. For people unfamiliar with older wines, or those who lack the patience or space to cellar wines themselves, Rioja is a great way to experience aged wine.

Wine review by: Jessyca Frederick

Viña Ardanza Reserva
Viña Ardanza Reserva: front of bottle with wine in glass

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About this Wine

Wine: 2012 Viña Ardanza Reserva
Blend: 78% Tempranillo and 22% Garnacha (Grenache)
Region: Rioja Alta, Rioja, Spain
Retail price: $36
I consumed it: April 2022
My source: The Decanter Magazine Wine Club by Wine Access

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From this wine club: The Decanter Magazine Wine Club by Wine Access

From this winery: La Rioja Alta

Region: Spain

Wine color/style: Red wine

Grape variety or blend: Red blend

Other characteristics: Aged

Viña Ardanza Reserva: What I think

An interesting experience, to be sure. Rioja is an area in Spain with strict definitions about how a wine is labeled — different requirements for time spent in oak barrels and in bottle before release. Rioja Alta (both a region and the winery which produces this wine) is an insider favorite, typically because it offers such great drinking value and ageability.

One of the great things about any of the wine clubs from Wine Access is that you frequently receive wines that have already been aged a little — this wine is an example of what we call a “back vintage” because the 2015 vintage is the current release for this wine. For people unfamiliar with older wines, or those who lack the patience or space to cellar wines themselves, Rioja is a great way to experience aged wine.

Last updated: June 26, 2023

Notice: I hold no formal wine credentials. I am a wine geek who has consumed 1000+ of bottles from 100+ different wine clubs and 1000s more bottles that didn’t come from those wine clubs. I do not accept payment for wine reviews, and I do not accept payments to influence my opinions. I happily accept free wine (and I buy wine).

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