2015 Marques de la Concordia Santiago Rioja Reserva 750 ml

An ageworthy knockout from the dusty highlands of Rioja Alta, the 2015 Marqués de la Concordia Santiago Reserva is one of the most phenomenal values coming out of Spain today.

It is extremely rare to come across a classic Reserva of this high-altitude power and classical structure at such an excellent price. When we first sampled the supple, ruby-hued 2015 Santiago at a private Rioja tasting in New York, the quiet sophistication and dry-heat intensity of this Tempranillo made it the runaway hit of the evening.

Rioja Santiago is for this northern Spanish region what Château Pape Clément is for Bordeaux, or Bouchard Père & Fils for Burgundy: one of the original founding estates of the appellation, and a standard-bearer of Old World magnificence.

Depending on who you ask, it’s either the second- or third-oldest winery in Rioja, and because of this incredible legacy, it’s one of just a handful of estates in Spain that can use the region’s name in its title. Dating back to 1870, Bodegas Rioja Santiago was established on the banks of the Tirón river in Haro, home to landmark Rioja properties like Muga, Cune, and Lopez de Heredia. The estate famously supplied liquid sustenance to the countless religious pilgrims who traveled through Rioja on the legendary Camino de Santiago route.

Acquired by the Marqués de la Concordia family of wines, the estate’s expression of the reddish, iron-rich soils of Rioja Alta has never been purer or more transparent. In this region known for producing some of Spain’s longest-lived wines, this bottling shows that you don’t have to spend a fortune to procure a gorgeous high-performer for your cellar.