Utseende: Djupt röd färg med röd kant.

Doft: Fin, kryddig och något utvecklad doft med fatkaraktär och toner av kokos, körsbär, nejlika och en aning råtobak.

Smak: Smaken är fyllig, med stor frukt, fin utveckling, sandiga tanniner, bra syra och toner av mörka körsbär, mullbär, lite kaffe och en aning mörk choklad.

2017

James Suckling - 92 p - "Some fine wood spices, hazelnut and chocolate with cedar, blackberries and graphite. Juicy and firm on the palate with medium to full body and nicely gritty tannins. Long and still quite tight."

Jeb Dunnuck - 92 p - "From the dreaded frost year that nonetheless produced great quality where it could, higher-elevation vineyards fared better, yet even still, very little of the 2017 Gran Reserva was produced. Employing the same winemaking process as its Reserva, it spent longer in oak (24 months) and more time in bottle (36 months). The aging is tangible in soft, melty tannins and a spiced, mature fruit profile of currant and dried cherry."

Vinous - 91 p - "The 2017 Gran Reserva Ramírez de la Piscina, from Rioja Alavesa, was aged for 24 months in a mix of French and American oak. Presenting mild red and black fruit aromas, including cherry and a hint of jam, over a woody backdrop, it's dry and structured in the mouth with coarse tannins and a core of ripe fruit. Mildly juicy and concentrated, the winemakers handled a difficult year, 2017, well."

Wine Enthusiast - 94 p - "Black cherries and plums, mountain herbs with a hint of clementine carry into the palate with flavors of spiced chocolate. Abundant, refined tannins and balanced acidity create a persistent finish. This is a serious while pleasurable wine."

2016

Jeb Dunnuck - 94 p - "Lastly, the 2016 Gran Reserva is gorgeous, offering a pure cassis, leather, leafy herb, and graphite-driven perfume as well as a rounded, layered, seamless style on the palate that offers tons to love. It's still structured and will evolve for another 15-20 years with ease."

Wine Enthusiast - 94 p - "Inky ruby to the eye, this wine has a bouquet of black cherry, cassis, thyme and lavender. It is spicy at first sip, with plush tannins and flavors of anisette, clove, fruits of the wood and chocolate with a touch of mint. As tannins and spice peel away, brighter fruit notes appear on the palate and head into the enduring finish."

James Suckling - 93 p - "Complex nose with a creamy overlay of walnuts, pine needles and sweet spices on top of the black cherries and blackberries. Full-bodied and intense with powerful, compact tannin that wraps up the fleshy black fruit. Quite long and tight. Better after 2024."

Wine Spectator - 92 p - "Dark but fresh, with graphite and milled pepper notes winding through fruit flavors of black plum reduction, blackberry and black currant underscored by a streak of tar and mineral. The rich, herb- and spice-laced profile of this medium- to full-bodied red is finely meshed with lightly chalky tannins."

Decanter - 90 p - "Plummy, dark fruits, with cedar and spice aromas. Rich and juicy on the palate, it’s balanced and open with lots of fruit. Black pepper on the finish. Drink 2023 to 2036."

Guía Peñín - 92 p - "Dark-red cherry colour with garnet rim. Aroma has notes of ripe fruit, fruit preserve, aged wood nuances, tobacco and sweet spices. Taste is spicy with round tannins and long aftertaste."