Luberri Gran Reserva Rioja Alavesa 2017

The Monje-Amestoy family of Luberri farms old-vine tempranillo principally between the villages of Elciego and Laguardia, in the heart of the Basque Rioja Alavesa region. Florentino Martínez Monje, the legendary Rioja Alavesa innovator behind Luberri, is a jovial and mercurial spirit with a heart the size of Rioja. Florentino’s two daughters are the next generation at Luberri, guiding the winery into the future. Miren is responsible for the vineyard work, while her sister Laura and husband Carlos are in charge of the vinification and cellar work. Not only is Luberri revolutionary for producing carbonic maceration wines for supreme drinkability, but they are also in the midst of a great era of experimentation and progress with their youthful low-and-no sulfur wines, as well as their limited single-vineyard and Gran Reserva bottlings. No matter the cuvée, the Luberri mantra remains the same: maximum respect for the drinker and wines built for maximum pleasure.

Luberri Gran Reserva is made from two of their oldest vineyards of 80-to-90-year-old tempranillo: Carrapaganos and Rehoyos from 460m – 600m, both located in the heart of Rioja Alavesa, near the village of Laguardia. Old, goblet-trained tempranillo vines face north in these vineyards, with the picturesque Sierra Cantabria mountains in the background. Carrapaganos consistently gives fruit with incredible structure and finesse, while Rehoyos yields plush, luxurious wines with excellent fruit depth. Luberri combines the two in the best vintages to produce their classic Gran Reserva.  

Luberri’s Gran Reserva is true to the house philosophy that wine should be incredibly enjoyable right out of the bottle. This Gran Reserva is very accessible with plenty of fruit that drinks great in the near term while offering additional rewards for further cellar time. Luberri’s Gran Reserva delivers an unbeatable value and approachability in the world of long-aged, single-origin wines of Rioja. 

2017 Vintage – The 2017 Rioja vintage was subject to a dramatic frost in late April which resulted in significantly lower yields and a much lower than normal production. However, Luberri’s Gran Reserva vineyards are located in the village of Laguardia, which luckily were mostly unaffected by the frost. Hot temperatures accompanied by a lack of rain during the ripening period led to Rioja’s earliest vintage ever. Luberri’s old-vines that go into the Gran Reserva perform exceptionally well in warm vintages like 2017, as their deep roots are able to better cope with the hydric stress. While 2017 is generally considered  an above-average vintage for quality with many similarities to the 2015 vintage, it was definitely a winemaker’s vintage where the experience of cosecheros like Florentino Monje, with more than 40 vintages under his belt, paid off with exceptional wines. The  2017 vintage was all about fruit selection, which is why the Gran Reserva from Luberri stands out with its trademark excellent acidity, finesse, and approachable fruit that is accessible right out of the bottle, yet will certainly repay additional time in the cellar.