Rioja Gran Reserva 904 2010

Provenance

The late David Brice was a respected wine connoisseur, collector and co-founder of Brice and Burnett – The Fine Wine Specialists (formerly Wine Cellar). His lifelong passion for wine from all corners of the world wine, and generosity, helped develop a culture of fine wine in South Africa and beyond. Always with value and authenticity in mind, the collection spans a wide range of styles from leading producers and diverse regions. The wines were professionally imported under refrigeration and carefully stored at Brice and Burnett (formerly Wine Cellar) thereafter. Many of the producers are not available in South Africa and provide an excellent buying opportunity.

For more detailed information on the lots, please feel free to contact Roland Peens (roland@briceandburnett.co.za). Roland spent many years sharing and enjoying these wines with David Brice and is happy to provide further insight into the collection.

Critics Ratings

'Pedro Ballesteros Torres MW: Intense and concentrated, with vanilla and dry meaty fruit aromas. Tight and expressive on the palate, with chocolatey notes and a very long finish. Sarah Jane Evans MW: An impressive expression of gran reserva, this is a complete wine that shows dark plums, very fine oak, woodsmoke and marmalade. It has a long, elegant finish. Pierre Mansour: With a refined and focused bouquet, this is an exquisite, complex and graceful wine, which has excellent maturity.' - Decanter.com, 95/100 (Feb 2023)

'Lots of vanilla and cream on the nose. This is the archetype of traditional Rioja! There is a touch of volatility on the nose, but plenty of juicy red fruit too. The tannins have faded into the background and the acid is soft too. Long and oak-scented on the finish, with perhaps a touch of meat juice too. Not quite a blow-away bottle, but certainly a grande dame.' - Richard Hemming MW, JancisRobinson.com, 17/20 (Feb 2021)

'Brilliant ruby. Powerful, spice-tinged cherry, red currant, pipe tobacco, coconut and incense aromas are complemented by floral and spicy nuances, gaining volume with air. Sweet and seamless on the palate, offering deeply concentrated cherry liqueur, red berry, floral pastille, musky earth and spicecake flavors that pick up a smoky flourish on the back half. Concentrated yet lively in style, showing superb delineation, firm structure and a sexy floral quality on the extremely long, penetrating finish. Raised for four years in four-year-old American oak barrels.' - Josh Raynolds, Vinous, 95/100 (Nov 2020)

'It has the combination of elegance and power only the best vintages are capable of, with the classical aromas, great detail and nuance, very good balance and persistence. They consider 2010 among the best years of this century, and maybe future generations will talk about 2010 like we talk about the great classical vintages of yesterday today. The palate is polished but shows plenty of energy and tension, the tannins are very fine and elegant, and the flavors are focused and clean. This has to be one of the greatest wines from the vintage. A legend in the making.' - Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate, 96+/100 (Jun 2019)