2009 Bodegas Riojanas Monte Real Rioja Gran Reserva 750 ml

Three years ago, we scored what we thought was an unbeatable deal on a decade-aged Rioja Gran Reserva.

Today, we top it. 

The 2009 Monte Real Gran Reserva hails from a year that both Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate rank as one of Rioja’s best of the decade. Made with old-school techniques that produce astoundingly long-lived wines, on its release in 2017 it earned an Editors’ Choice nod from Wine Enthusiast. 

Bodegas Riojanas sits right in the heart of Rioja Alta and was founded in 1890, during the first glory years of the region. They’re in the original building in the town of Cenicero, where vineyards are prized for their combination of Rioja Alta’s elegance and structure with Rioja Alavesa’s power and fruit. Cenicero also sits far enough away from Haro, Rioja’s commercial center, that the estate had a half-century head start to acquire the prime sites around the town.

Their ability to realize the potential of those vineyards is largely due to legendary winemaker Felipe Nalda, who celebrated his 45th vintage while guiding the ‘09 through the sort of ultra-traditional vinification and aging we expect from such a historic house. The wines are fermented in large, upright, clay tinajas before being aged three years in American oak barrica barrels—two steps crucial to allow for the transformation of their powerful Tempranillo into the perfumed, multifaceted Monte Real we now taste over a decade later.

Any time we can get our hands on a well-aged Gran Reserva Rioja, it’s a special occasion. When that wine is Bodegas Riojanas’ Monte Real—a beloved, Wine Access member-favorite—it’s even better.