Diez-Caballero Reserva 2012

Big plum and toffee aromas. A rich and rather mellow wine with much of the character of traditional Rioja combined with powerful dry tannins at the finish.

The 2012 Reserva feels impressively young and lively, with a combination of ripe fruit and spicy oak that makes it quite attractive. Other wines from 2012 have a lot more tertiary notes and feel more developed, but this is still in a very primary phase. There are some dusty tannins that might require some food. Like all of their reds, this is Tempranillo, and it matured in French oak for 18 followed by no less than 30 months in bottle, in search of this harmony and finesse. 15,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in October 2014.

If you like your Reservas mature and ready to drink, Antonio Diez-Caballero's pure Tempranillo red is just the ticket. Savoury, spicy and well-structured, with well-handled oak, some grip and backbone, chalky minerality and sweet red berry, leather and tobacco leaf complexity. 2022-25