Pure drinking pleasure! We review the 2017 Oscar Tobia Rioja Reserva which includes an ancient Rioja grape variety.
90% Tempranillo and 10% Maturana from Rioja Alta, Spain. The wine spends 28 months in barrel and another 24 in bottle before release and has just 2.8 g/L of residual sugar.
Everyone knows that Tempranillo is king in Rioja and today’s wine includes a large amount of it – 90%. What was most interesting to us upon first glance however, was the other 10%.
That 10% is made up of Maturana Tinta, thought to be the oldest native variety of Rioja. It was almost extinct before its rediscovery in the early 1990s. This late ripening grape is making a comeback in part thanks to climate change.
Let’s check this wine out.
Sample submitted for review. The 2017 Oscar Tobia Rioja Reserva is available for as low as $21.
From the winery:
2017 Oscar Tobia Rioja Reserva
Vintage: 2017 Historic vintage due to its short production and early ripening, being, to date, the earliest in history. The decrease in vineyard productivity is influenced by several climatic factors, such as the spring frost on 28 April, which affected a large part of the vineyards in Rioja Alta, and by the drought, which was an extremely dry year. In terms of quality, whenever we talk about low vineyard productivity, it always results in an increase in the quality of the grapes. And in dry years like 2017, it also means excellent vineyard health with a total absence of diseases and pests. This is a great vintage in terms of quality, with very ripe wines, with higher than normal alcohol values, very healthy and aromatic and perfect for long ageing in barrels.
Winemaking
• Vatting of the destemmed and uncrushed grapes in intelligent stainless steel “Ganimede” type tanks.
• Cold maceration for 3 days at a temperature of 10-12 degrees.
• Alcoholic fermentation with the indigenous yeasts of the vineyard at a temperature of 22-24ºC.
• Malolactic fermentation in barrels, followed by ageing for 28 months in new, one- and two-use French oak barrels, 90% French and 10% Hungarian.
• Natural stabilisation of the wine during its long barrel ageing.
• Clarification with fresh egg whites. Bottling of the wine without filtering in order to respect all the sensory qualities.
• The ageing was completed with bottle ageing for at least 24 months.GRAPES/VINEYARDS
Tempranillo (90%) from 3 vineyards in Rioja Alta:
1. Located in San Asensio. Planted in 1921, goblet trained. Altitude 535 m. Soil: calcareous clay with gravel. Orientation: south-west. Microclimate: Atlantic with Mediterranean influence.
2. Located in San Vicente de la Sonsierra, planted in 1965, goblet trained. Altitude 480 m. Soil: calcareous clay with gravel. Orientation: north, giving it a purely Atlantic microclimate.
3. Located in Haro, planted in 1990. Altitude: 590 m. Soil: calcareous clay with a lot of gravel and shallow. Orientation: south-east. Microclimate: Atlantic.
Maturana (10%). Located at an altitude of 650 m above sea level, in Nájera, Rioja Alta. Vineyard planted in 2008, on high plateau with west-south orientation, on poor soils with gravels composed of ferric clay that limit its production. The vines are trellised, dry-farmed and treated in a way that respects organic viticulture. These are vineyards with very low yields, where in 2016 they barely exceeded 3,500 kg/ha.Would You Like To Save This?
Subscribe and we'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
We won't send you spam, unsubscribe at any time.
TASTING NOTES
Color: Clean and bright, intense cherry red colour with garnet rim.Nose: Aroma of good intensity, very fine and elegant. In a symphony of aromas, ripe black fruit (blueberries, prunes), spicy notes (black pepper, clove, cedar wood), mineral notes (flint) all on a fragrant background of toffee and cocoa.
On the palate, it is pleasant, velvety and voluptuous. It immediately becomes fleshy, round, full and glyceric. With a very enveloping tactile sensation in the mouth. It has a great freshness that makes everything in perfect balance. Very polished tannins and a very spicy aftertaste. A wine with a long finish and great persistence.
Total Acidity: 6 g/l
Residual Sugar: 2,6 gr/l
Total Sulphur: 90 mg/l
15.35% Alcohol
The 2017 Oscar Tobia Rioja Reserva opens with a really lovely, varied aroma of black cherry, licorice, leather and balsamic but also a bit of a floral and nutty note, touches of dried herbs and a bit of smokiness. It’s a very nice start.
All of these components translate over when tasting too, just be sure to give it a little time to breathe so it can open up fully. Very smooth and juicy with lots of well-integrated spice, this is pure drinking pleasure.
It ends dry, very long and a bit grippy and spicy on the very satisfying finish and was just as good on day 2. We put this at the high end of our 9 Taste Rating at 92-93 points.
Looking for more of our favorite picks from Rioja under $25? Browse our multi-page listing along with more information on the wines of this popular, and unique, region!
You can also find more of our favorite Tempranillo here.
Review Summary
Oscar Tobia Rioja Reserva Review • Reverse Wine Snob
Pure drinking pleasure! We review the 2017 Oscar Tobia Rioja Reserva which includes an ancient Rioja grape variety.
7.5
Pros
- 92-93 Points
- Includes the ancient Rioja grape variety Maturana Tinta
Cons
- Hard to find
