The Chavarri family has made top-quality Rioja since 1882, and today, fifth-generation winemaker Ruth Chavarri carries on the tradition with a zeal and innovative perspective that consistently earn her wines high acclaim. The long-aged Pagos de Tahola Rioja Reserva is an excellent example of her style, offering mellowed flavors of red fruit layered with oak-driven tones of vanilla.

To make the bottling, Ruth carefully selected grapes from her family’s premium Tempranillo plots, where 60-year-old, low-yielding vines produced extra-concentrated, extra ripe fruit. Then, once fermentation was complete, she aged the wine a year in a mix of fine French and American oak barrels, blended the two lots, bottled the stuff and aged it another five-plus years before releasing any to us.

Now almost a decade old, the perfectly aged result is just hitting its stride, with a depth and complexity you won’t find in a younger selection. As such, we recommend decanting the wine briefing before sipping to encourage its aromas and flavors to open up fully.

Look forward to cherry, red currant and plum characteristics kissed by spice and vanilla, and layered with leather accents throughout a long, smooth finish. The ideal thing to savor with dry-cured Serrano or Ibérico ham. Or, for an authentic Riojan feast, with roast suckling pig.

This Rioja Reserva is a superb value that’s made for sharing with good friends. Hurry for your share.