La Rioja Alta Vina Arana Reserva Rioja 2004

Deep cherry and blackcurrant on the nose, threaded with smoked meat, liquorice, and aged leather. This is a wine that takes its time, the fruit is dense and mouth-filling at first, slowly giving way to a sweetly floral core, violet and candied rose, with a flicker of bitter cherry skin underneath. Tannins are firm and persistent, but never aggressive, and the finish carries dried spice well past the last sip. Still wound tight for a 2004; another three to five years will do it real justice.