93 points Editor’s Choice Wine Enthusiast

The scent of black cherry, mocha and sage wafts from the glass. Plush tannins support black cherry, blackberry, caramel, clove and mint tea flavors. Well-integrated acidity and a note of saline endure long after the last sip. Mike DeSimone

91+ points View from the Cellar

The 2017 Rioja Reserva from Via Otano is composed from its customary blend of eighty-five percent tempranillo, ten percent graciano and five percent mazuelo, with all of the fruit hailing from vineyards in the Rioja Alta sector. The wine is given eighteen months of levage in cask prior to bottling and tips the scales at 14.5 percent alcohol in this vintage. It offers up a lovely aromatic constellation of black raspberries, cassis, cigar wrapper, dark soil tones, brown spices, just a touch of meatiness and cedary wood. On the palate the wine is deep, complex and full- bodied, with a good undercarriage of tannins, fine depth at the core, good soil signature and a long, poised and very nicely balanced finish. Despite being seven years of age, the 2017 Reserva really could do with a bit more time in the cellar to properly soften up its tannins. It is a lovely bottle in the making. 2030-2065.
John Gilman; Issue 109, January February 2024