2016 CVNE 'Asúa' Rioja Reserva

The 2016 Asúa Reserva goes one step further in the Asúa project that started with a Crianza, but this wine wants to be the old Reserva wine sold at restaurants (the Asúa Crianza is more for bars). It's a blend of 85% Tempranillo and the rest Graciano and Mazuelo from their own vineyards in Haro, as the wines from this zone are known for their finesse and aging potential. It fermented in a combination of concrete and oak vats and matured in French oak barrels for 24 months. This has a little less oak than the Imperial Reserva from this same cool year, and the wine has a little more freshness. I was pleasantly surprised and found very good balance between the best characteristics from the more modern wines (precision, freshness and cleanliness) and the spirit of the traditional ones. It has less oak than the modern wines from yesterday and the balsamic and cigar-ash touch of the traditional and more developed Reservas. Surprisingly enough, this closed down in the glass, which points at a serious and straight wine that should be very long lived. 35,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in July 2020. This range should eventually go one step further and include a Gran Reserva.