Ramón Bilbao Reserva Rioja 2016

Everything a traditional reserva Rioja should be. Intense aromas of fresh red and black fruit with sweet spices, vanilla and brioche, the palate, luxuriously silky, delivers cassis, blackcurrants, black cherry, incense laden spices and forthright but perfectly balanced tannin.

Aging: 20 months in American oak followed by 20 months in bottle

The story of Bodegas Ramón Bilbao begins in the late 19th century with ambitious Basque native Ramón Bilbao Murga. In 1895 he moved to a small village near Haro where, encouraged by his uncle in the same businesses, started his endeavours in the grain and wine industries. Unfortunately, this coincided with the arrival of phylloxera and his small holding of vineyards were wiped out. It wasn’t until 1914 that he replanted vineyards, and in 1924 built his first bodega. Fast forward to 1999 and acquisition by Zamora Company substantially increased the bodega’s holdings, growing from barely 2 hectares to 203 including vineyards in Rías Baixas and Rueda. Bodegas Ramón Bilbao today makes elegant, fruit driven wines, wines that display freshness, and with more French oak used, outstanding poise and balance.