Bodegas Larchago Izarbe Rioja Gran Reserva 2008

Hazelnuts, chocolate, vanilla spices and touches of lanolin and tobacco to the dark cherries and plums. This is starting to gain tertiary complexity even though the cedary oak influence is still prominent, which actually serves to protect the wine from aging. Creamy, flavorful and long, with lots of juicy fruit and fine oak spices. Drink from 2026. (Zekun Shuai,jamessuckling.com,May 6, 2024)