| Score: |
94+ JG.
"The 2008 Imperial Reserva is still a young wine, but this seems destined to be one of the great recent vintages for this iconic bottling (I cannot wait to taste the 2008 Gran Reserva). The beautiful bouquet presents a primary and very pure constellation of plums, black cherries, toasted coconut, sweet Cuban cigar tones, a beautifully complex base of soil, cocoa, just a touch of fresh nutmeg, Rioja spice tones and a lovely base of vanillin and coconutty oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and very, very pure, with a sappy core of fruit, impeccable focus and balance, ripe tannins and outstanding length and grip on the nascently complex and very classy finish. This is still a puppy and really should be tucked away in the cellar for another decade, though it is so beautifully balanced that it is already all too easy to drink in its youth. But, it will be a profound wine, so just buy it . . ." View From the Cellar, Nov/Dec 2014, Issue #54 |