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Vina Muriel Rioja Reserva

Impressive Rioja Alavesa from 100% Tempranillo from vines of average age 40 years, holding impressive vibrancy after maturation in French oak barrels for 24 months and a further two years bottle age. It’s an enticing and complex Reserva that retains its red cherry and cranberry primaries, overlaying them with immense complexity of aromatic herbs, dried flowers, exotic spice, pipe smoke and dark chocolate. It is at once vibrant and tangy and simultaneously savoury and complex, maturing slowly and surely. Tannins are firm, confident, fine-ground and enduring, finishing long and assured. $35 at WineStar.