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Marques de Riscal Reserva 2004 I loved the 2001 vintage of this wine and unfortunately the 2002 and 2003 was not even in the same ball park as that wine. The good news is that the 2004 ia back the same qulaity level as the 2001. This is a fantastic wine: quite fragrant and perfumed with cola, chocolate, rosemary and spice on the nose. The palate is very well intergrated with lovely cherries, mulberry, herbs and spice. It is needs some good airing but will cellar 10 plus years in the cellar. 94 points Anthony D'Anna Anthony at Boccaccio Cellars has been raving about this, so I thought I’d better give it a run. The comeback vintage of 2001 was a big hit, and the 2004 is on a similar level. So, I line up the 2004 and 2001, along with the 2004 Roda Reserva after Griff’s call that this is a ‘better’ wine. I’ve put the note for the 2001 in the ‘From the cellar’ section, but it’s drinking very well at the moment. A few more years in the cellar and it will be a mighty drink. Comparing this wine and Roda Reserva is a bit like comparing a 2005 Burgundy (Roda) to a 2004 Chianti (Marques de Riscal), they are both excellent but different. I favoured the Roda slightly, it is giving a lot more enjoyment at this stage, but I would be very happy to drink either and will put some of both in the cellar. The 04 is the same price as the 01, that’s amazing given what has happened to wine prices in the past 2-3 years. An almost identical nose to the 2001; cherry and blackberry with brambly herbs, some cigar box and pencil shavings, a touch of mocha. Inviting with rustic charm and complexity. The palate shows plenty of firm tannins and a fine balance between tannin and acid. Savoury cherry and blackberry fruit on the palate with earthy spices: ground liquorice root, cinnamon and nutmeg. Some chocolate and sage shows up on night 2. Gutsy and robust, but also very enjoyable. Very interesting drinking this beside the 2001, they are very similar. Hold for 5 years, then drink over the following 10. 93+ Pts. Dave Worthington, Tinto y Blanco Marques de Riscal is the most famous winery in Rioja and has been producing some of Spain’s greatest wines since 1860. Committed to the strictest quality standards, among the technical advisers of Herederos del Marqués de Riscal are the prestigious French oenologists, Guy Guimberteau of the Institute of Oenology of Bordeaux and Paul Pontallier of Château Margaux. Marques de Riscal Reserva presents from one of Rioja's best loved bodegas comes this rich and powerful red wine, with spicy fruit, soft tannins and well integrated oak flavours.90% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano and Mazuelo aged for 23 months in American oak. 90% Tempranillo was sourced from vines aged between 15 and 30 years, and oak-aged for 24 months. Dark with a cherry red rim. On the nose, this wine does not need to breathe. From the beginning, it reveals a pleasant bouquet which evolves, in stages, from balsamic aroma of the still glass to oaky vanilla after swirling it in the glass, passing through an intermediate spicy phase. In the mouth the tannin soon appears on the central part of the tongue, very quickly evolves from freshness on the hard palate to finish on the soft palate with a sensation of warmth and finally leaving a sensation of toast underneath the tongue.