Old school, perfectly executed, standout vintage—AND with bottle age
- 93 pts Wine Advocate93 pts RPWA
- Curated by unrivaled experts
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2016 Carlos Serres Gran Reserva Rioja 750 ml
- Curated by unrivaled experts
- Choose your delivery date
- Temperature controlled shipping options
- Get credited back if a wine fails to impress
Everything You Want Out of Gran Reserva Rioja
Even if it didn’t have 93 points from the Wine Advocate and Editors’ Choice honors from Wine Enthusiast, there was no way we were gonna let the 2016 Carlos Serres Gran Reserva slip through our fingers. It’s everything we’re after in old-school, traditionally made Rioja.
Carlos Serres (the man) came from Bordeaux in the late 19th century, after phylloxera had devastated the wine industry in the Médoc. Finding the perfect terroir to make Bordeaux-style wines, he settled in Haro and set up shop—not just as a winery, but as one of the region’s first exporters. In 1907, he established the Rioja Wine Exporters Syndicate, a forerunner to the modern Rioja Designation of Origin Control Board. By the early 20th century, his wines could be found in France, England, Cuba, and the US.
The Serres winery has always had an eye afield, and they’ve had over a century to expand—but their wines still hail from the chalky-clay soils that caught the founder’s attention long ago. The 150-acre Finca El Estanque estate, located southeast of the famed town of Haro, is planted mainly to Tempranillo but includes Mazuelo and Graciano, both of which make it into the blend.
After the grapes are hand-harvested from vines that average 35 years of age, they are fermented in concrete vats before retiring to a combination of French and American oak for a lengthy 36-month rest—a full year longer than is required. Another three years in bottle give the wine time to integrate and mellow, becoming everything you hope for when you see “Gran Reserva” on the label.