- 90% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano
- The first vintage to be optically sorted berry by berry
- Alcoholic fermentation in tank for 21 days
- Racked to house-coopered American oak barrels (average age 4.5 years) in January of 2016
- Aged for four years in barrel with manual rackings every six months
- Bottled in February 2020
Info
Producer:
Vintage:
2016
Country:
Spain
Region:
La Rioja
Appellation:
Rioja
Variety:
Tempranillo-Based Blend
Color:
Red
Farming Practice:
Practicing Organic
Sizes Available
| Full Bottle | ES-LRA-30-16 | 12/750ml |
| Magnum | ES-LRA-30-16M | 6/1500ml |
| 3L (Jeroboam) | ES-LRA-30-16J | 1/3000ml |
Press & Reviews
James Suckling
Score
97
Date
2024-08-15
"Such a deep and complex gran reserva with richness and depth. Genuinely intense and harmonious, with cigar box, pine cones, black mushrooms and high-grade wood and vanilla. Juicy, flavorful and really long. Goes on for a minute, if not more. Such a hedonistic Rioja that delivers sheer pleasure. 90% tempranillo and 10% graciano. Drink or hold."
Vinous
Score
96
Date
2026-04-07
"The 2016 Gran Reserva 904 (90% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano; Rioja Alta) was aged in American oak barrels (average barrel age 4.5 years) and racked every six months. On the nose, vanilla, tar and mushroom lead, followed by leather, tobacco leaf, dried dates and a subtle iodine note. The palate is supple and finely structured, with polished yet firm tannins. Tertiary nuances linger on the finish, where the oak lends classical Rioja elegance."
Wine Advocate
Score
96
Date
2026-03-12
"I tased again the stellar 2016 Gran Reserva 904, which is nothing short of being spectacular and a textbook example of the grand traditional style. It was produced with 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano from a selection of vineyards in search of balanced wines with silky tannins, good acidity, character, length and aging potential. The élevage is long, four years in used barrels that average 4.5 years of age, during which time the wine is manually racked every six months. It's ripe.. but the wine is super fresh and complex, with aromas of cigar box, dry tea leaves, balsam, aromatic herbs, camphor, antique furniture and tobacco. It's elegant and intense, with pungent flavors and very good freshness, and it's silky-textured and nicely structured, with volume, clean, intense and long. This is a very complete year for this wine. It's ready, but it should last; it hasn't really moved an inch from last year. 120,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in May 2021."
Jeb Dunnuck
Score
95
Date
2025-07-31
"A 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano, the 2016 Gran Reserva 904 is sourced from a selection of estate-owned vineyards from throughout the region. The vintage was high in quality and quantity and the producer could be selective in the vineyard. Aging took place four years in American barrel, most of them four years old, and four more in bottle. It tastes of coffee and dark chocolate, with high-toned acidity that underscores raspberry fruit. Still a touch grippy, the tannins are beginning to become supple. More time in bottle should be fine, drink now through 2036."
Tim Atkin, MW
Score
95
Date
2025-02-27
"Gloriously, even defiantly, traditional in style, this is a still youthful Gran Reserva from a cooler vintage, featuring Tempranillo and 10% Graciano. Mocha, Asian spice and ash aromas lead you into a palate that's floral, elegant and refined, with layers of tobacco leaf, pomegranate and wild strawberry, sculpted tannins and acidity to age. 2026-2040"
Jancis Robinson
Score
18
Date
2026-03-10
"Tasted blind. Aromas of cocoa, chocolate, mocha and toasted wood. A very generous aromatic profile, already fully showing its evolved character. Silky tannins shaped by time, delivering a beautiful tertiary expression, with flavours of stewed fruit " a clearly recognisable, well-understood classic style. This kind of delight is only achieved through the slow passage of time and true mastery in the cellar. (FC)"
REVIEWS FROM PAST VINTAGES
2011
James Suckling
Score
96
Date
2021-11-23
2011
Decanter
Score
95
Date
2021-11-10
"I could not resist including the cousins: La Rioja Alta 890 and 904. I am devoted to 890, but I know that 904 has many vociferous fans. The first difference is the Graciano in this wine, more than 10%. This adds lovely freshness, and darker characters from liquorice to spice. The wine spends a little less time ageing, and remains generous and mouth filling with dark cherries and orange zest. Very delicious."
2011
John Gilman
Score
95
Date
2011
Tim Atkin, MW
Score
95
Date
2021-11-10
2011
Vinous
Score
94
Date
2020-09-01
2011
Wine Advocate
Score
94
Date
2020-10-30
2011
Wine and Spirits
Score
94
Date
2020-12-01
James Suckling
Score
98
Date
2023-11-08
"#82 Top 100 Wines of 2023: Very impressive complexity and width on the nose, showing lots of savoriness with mushrooms, sandalwood, cedar, sweet spices, dried oranges and tobacco. Really even and juicy on the palate with fine and very present tannins. Juicy, creamy finish lasting a minute. Really elegant and layered. It goes on and on. A real Rioja Gran Reserva and I recommend buying a case! The first vintage that La Rioja Alta labelled ÁSeleccion Especial,. So appealing now, but this will evolve well in the next 20 years."
Tim Atkin, MW
Score
96
Date
2021-11-23
John Gilman
Score
95+
Date
2023-07-10
Vinous
Score
95
Date
2024-04-18
"The 2015 Gran Reserva 904 is a blend of 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano from Rioja Alta, aged for up to four years in American oak barrels. This garnet red wine with a brick sheen features an evolved and complex nose. It offers notes of cola, licorice, sour cherry and dried flowers, accompanied by hints of leather and herbs. On the palate, it is dry, silky and juicy, with fine-grained tannins and a chalky texture that lead to a nimble flow and a lingering finish. This is an old-school, precise Rioja that sets the standard for the region and will delight many a consumer."
Wine Advocate
Score
95
Date
2024-02-29
"I tasted again the 2015 Gran Reserva 904 Selecci¢n Especial, a blend of 90% Tempranillo from their vineyards in Villalba, Bri¤as and Rodezno, with 10% Graciano from the Montecillo Vineyard in Fuenmayor that was picked 23 days later than the Tempranillo that I had already tasted in mid-2022 before the wine was released. Time in bottle has done it some good, polishing the strong tannins that are the signature from 2015, though they are still not fully resolved, and a few more years in bottle will do it good. It's tasty, very classical, balanced and fresh. Impressive for such a powerful year. It was bottled in March 2020 after it matured in used American oak barrels for four years."
Wine Spectator
Score
93
Date
2024-08-31
"Rich and velvety, with a lovely range of mulled cherry, dark chocolate, herbed olive, eucalyptus, iron and milled pepper notes gliding across the palate in a supple, medium- to full-bodied frame. Reveals fine-grained, chalky tannins that are well-meshed with the dark, aromatic profile, while hints of forest floor and sandalwood linger on the finish. Tempranillo and Graciano. Better than previously reviewed. Drink now through 2035. 12,500 cases made, 3,200 cases imported."
Jancis Robinson
Score
17.5
Date
2024-04-26
"Pale crimson-brick hue. Lean and savoury, with pure red fruit " pomegranate " and a gentle salted-almond note. So elegant and long, with a deliciously salty finish. (FG)"