Arzuaga Reserva 2016, a journey through Ribera del Duero

This post is also available in: Español (Spanish)

As you know, at Bodegas Arzuaga we’ve been sharing a series of tastings with you so that you can find out even more about our wines. In this post, we’d like to tell you about the tasting of our Arzuaga Reserva 2016, led from the Bodegas Arzuaga barrel room by Javier Bañales, Arzuaga’s sales manager and brand ambassador.

‘Opening a bottle and pouring a glass of Arzuaga Reserva 2016, one of our most interesting and important wines, is the beginning of a journey through the most iconic Ribera del Duero; one of those wines that make Ribera del Duero a benchmark in wine worldwide,’ explains Bañales as he uncorks the bottle of Arzuaga Reserva 2016.

As for its production, Arzuaga Reserva 2016 ‘is a wine based on Tempranillo grapes from vines that are 65 years old on average. Each vintage has around 95% Tempranillo and a little Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot to complete the blend,’ says Bañales.

Arzuaga Reserva is a wine that’s very closely linked to the history of Bodegas Arzuaga, as it’s been made practically since the winery was founded. ‘The first vintages to come out on the market were 1995 and 1996, two excellent vintages in Ribera del Duero. It’s a wine that, as we always say, is part of the house cuvée. It’s a wine that we don’t make every year, just in the most exclusive and outstanding vintages,’ points out Bañales.

When it comes to tasting Arzuaga Reserva 2016, the sales manager emphasises that ‘after nearly two years in French oak barrels, when you bring it to your nose, you find very strong notes of fruit, balsamic notes, red and black fruits, spices, very elegant tobaccos. On the nose, you also find how the complexity appears and the notes that let you see how the western part of Ribera del Duero tastes’. Then, on the palate, this red wine ‘again gives you the same nuances that you picked up on the nose. Blackberries and wild fruits, that crisp point of the fresh fruit, always that lively point of Ribera del Duero’.

In short, we can say that when we refer to Arzuaga Reserva, we’re talking about ‘a fresh wine that’s pleasant to drink since we first tried it’; we’re talking about ‘a great classic’.

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