Despite a massive annual production, El Coto produces resolutely classic Riojas, ones built for decades of evolution, as evidenced by today’s 1994 Reserva. It’s 100% Tempranillo that aged in new and used American oak for no less than 18 months before bottling. Afterward, the wine rested another six months prior to its initial commercial release. This specific parcel was stashed away in a cold Riojan cellar for the next 20+ years before it was packed up in November of 2021 and shipped our way. A few larger formats were available as well, and although we were only able to snag 18 magnums, we’re grateful for each one. 

We’re always thrilled to uncork old, cellar-stored beauties from Rioja. Upon arrival of this ’94 Reserva, we opened a bottle to see how it held up on its transatlantic journey and it had us swooning. These wines appear to be under their original corks so I strongly recommend using a two-pronged ah-so. If opening with a standard wine key, please gently drive the corkscrew all the way in and pull out as slowly and uniformly as possible. 

Before dipping your nose in, serve this around 65 degrees and allow several minutes for it to open up in a Bordeaux stem. Then, give it a few light swirls and prepare yourself for a sublime and nuanced display of dried cherry, green strawberry, sous bois, plum skin, mushroom stock, coconut husk, sandalwood, redcurrant, damp herbs, and hints of vanilla. The wine is medium-bodied and impossibly graceful, with each layer gliding across the palate without a hard/angular tannin in sight. We enjoyed our bottle over the course of three hours and the last ounce still showed substantial vigor. I anticipate these magnums will age slower than their smaller 750ML brothers, and wouldn’t be at all surprised if they reached their 40th birthday with ease. Cheers!