Bodegas Ontanon Reserva 2015 (Rioja, Spain)

The Wine

Made primarily from Tempranillo with a small proportion of Graciano, the wine opens with a snootful of aromas featuring ripe blackberries, dried cherries, and plums, layered with notes of vanilla, cedar, tobacco, and a touch of baking spice from extended oak aging. 

On the palate, the wine balances concentrated fruit with good tannins and lively acidity supporting its savory complexity. Hints of leather and earth emerge alongside the fruit and finish that keeps on giving.

Drinking beautifully now but with the stuff needed to continue evolve for the next decade.

Pairings: Roast lamb, game, and aged Manchego cheese!.

The Winery

Bodegas Ontañón is a family-owned winery based in Rioja, with vineyards in Rioja Oriental and other regions of Spain. Founded by Gabriel Pérez in the mid-twentieth century, the estate has is respected for combining the region's old, artisanal traditions with sustainable practices.

Ontañón farms at high altitudes, where the combination of intense sunlight and cooler nights produces grapes of concentration and freshness. The philosophy emphasizes respect for the land, careful vineyard management, and long aging in both barrel and bottle prior to release, resulting in wines of appreciable balance and complexity. Their Reservas and Gran Reservas are particularly admired for showcasing Rioja’s hallmark style: fruit purity intertwined with oak-derived elegance and a sense of timelessness.