2014 Torre de Oña - Finca Martelo Reserva (90 pts)

2014 Torre de Oña - Finca Martelo Reserva (90 pts) @fincamartelo ℹ️ This wine is 95% Tempranillo and 5% Mazuelo, Garnacha, and Viura from estate vineyards in Rioja Alavesa, Spain. The vines are over 60-year-old. The grapes were hand-harvested, fermented in vats, and malo in new American and French oak barrels. The wine was aged 24 months in 80% American oak barrels and 20% French oak barrels. 👁 Medium+ ruby color. 👃 Medium+ intensity on the nose. Aromas of oak, vanilla, cigarette ash, smoke, clove, stewed cherry, strawberry fruit leather, raspberry, and dark chocolate. 👄 The wine is dry, medium acidity, medium spicy tannins, high alcohol (14.5%), and medium+ body. The palate shows more fruit but also a creamy, buttery character. A medium length finish of stewed red fruit, gobs of oak spice, and dark chocolate. 🔔 Tasting this wine alongside the wines of La Rioja Alta was a bit jarring for me. Finca Martelo is super modern and has more than a healthy dose of new oak, especially compared to the very traditional wines of La Rioja Alta. This wine has power and spice, but the new oak overshadows the fruit at the moment. Finca Martelo is clearly well made, but it lacks the typicity of the wines of Rioja for me personally. All of that said, this wine may resonate with a broader audience. 💰 ~$30 #vin #lovewine #🍷 #wineterroir #wine #tempranillo #rioja #riojawine #martelo #riojalavesa