La Rioja Alta Viña Alberdi Selección Especial Reserva 2021

Only the second Selección Especial since 2001, this all-Tempranillo blend from Rioja Alta and Alavesa opens with dried cherry, bitter orange peel, and a dusting of cocoa-touched oak, classical Rioja in its bones. Fine-grained tannins and a firm spine of acidity hold the wine in good order, the weight measured and confident rather than showy. Dark fruit and tobacco build through the mid-palate and carry into a finish with genuine length, the kind that speaks to the vintage rather than the winemaking. Conviction in every glass.