Valenciso Reserva 2016 Magnum

Valenciso's consistently impressive Reserva hails from 15 different parcels in the villages of Briones, Haro, Ollauri, Rodezno and Villalba. Showing the elegance of the 2016 vintage, this is a very polished performance with damson and blackcurrant fruit, fine tannins and the structure and focus to age further in bottle. 2023-31.

The balanced, young and elegant 2016 Reserva mixes characteristics from classical and more modern Rioja reds, fruit and herbs, spicy oak and some complexity and a medium-bodied palate with very good freshness and fine tannins. It's riper than you think at 14.5% alcohol and has a pH of 3.7. It fermented in concrete and matured in French barrels for 18 months. 100,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in autumn 2020.

Quite a meaty nose, showing some dark earth, pencil lead and a hint of peppercorn to the blackberries and dark cherries. Juicy and quite fine-grained on the palate, with precise, sweet fruit and slight funk in the finish, which adds interest without being over the top. Tempranillo. Drink now.