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2012 Torre de Oña Martelo Reserva

Torre de Oña, Rioja Wine Region, Spain

Drinking Now 2030
Bottle shot of 2012 Torre de Oña Martelo Reserva

2012 Torre de Oña Martelo Reserva

Torre de Oña, Rioja Wine Region, Spain

Drinking Now 2030

Scores

60 year-old vines. 95% Tempranillo and 5% a traditional field blend of Mazuelo, Garnacha and Viura. 24 months in oak, 80% American and 20% French. Mid garnet. Correct, fully expressive savoury rioja with no excess oak and just starting to drink well. Gamey, but also fresh with good definition and structure. Very complete, Well done!
17 Points, Jancis Robinson MW

A good match between ripe black fruit and vanilla oak with gentle spiciness to finish. Medium body, soft tannin, moderate acid. Both traditional in oak usage, yet modern with the ripe, forward fruit. A good crowd pleaser.
16.5 Points, Richard Hemming MW

The vines in this small two-hectare plot, made as a separate wine for the first time in 2012, are all over 100 years’ old. The result is a wine with impressive focus and concentration, dense black fruits, refreshing acidity and the texture to integrate the 100% new French oak. Drink 2018-30.
94 Points, Tim Atkin MW

14% alcohol. Primarily Tempranillo with malolactic in barrel, where the wine stays for 2 years in a mix of French (20%) and American (80%) oak. Refined and supple, this is a wine that combines sweet berry and cherry fruits with some complex spice, earth and cedar notes, as well as a hint of tar. There’s a lovely concentration of fruit and just a twist of vanilla from the American oak, but this stays nicely in the background. This is a modern Rioja, but it’s not about bold, sweet fruit: instead, there’s a level of elegance and refinement here, and this wine will age into a beautiful mellow maturity over the course of the next decade. It has all the ingredients to become a polished, classic, mature Rioja.
94 Points, Jamie Goode

Full to medium body, and ultra-fine grained texture. Very long and spicy. Fresh undertone. This is the first release and shoes a new style from the owners of Rioja Alta. Real freshness.
93 Points, James Suckling

The new wine at Torre de Ona is the 2012 Martelo, mostly Tempranillo (but always with some Mazuelo, Garnacha and even Viura) from a single-vineyard slope containing the older vines of the estate, which names the wine. It fermented with natural yeasts and went through malolactic in new barrels, then it matured in used barriques (80% American) for 24 months. This was almost an experimental wine, with the elegant and balanced profile I see in the 2014s, with a little more ripeness and concentration, but nevertheless an impressive debut. The nose is changing, losing the primary character and developing further complexity. The tannins are fine, and the texture and mouthfeel are soft but with clout. 40,000 bottles were filled in March 2016. This new wine will only be produced in certain vintages, cooler years with gentle tannins that allow for long and balanced aging.
92 Points, Luis Gutiérrez, The Wine Advocate

The famous La Rioja Alta company has released a brand new product under its Torre de Oña brand and it is a thoroughly gorgeous wine. A single vineyard Reserva, made from 60-year-old vines, the 2012 vintage is a 95% tempranillo, 5% field blend of mazuelo, garnacha and viura, and it spends two years in 80% American and 20% French oak. The recipe makes sense and it also explains a lot about the lush, broad, sweeping black-fruit flavours and ultra-succulent back palate.
Matthew Jukes


Tasting Notes

An extremely elegant reserva with an enveloping bouquet of crushed red cherries and subtle spices with just a hint of lavender. On the palate, smooth textures and bright red berry fruits are balanced by a refined mineral character which leads to a long and refreshing finish. Beautifully defined and supple, and almost Burgundian in style, this wine will age well but would be perfect for drinking over the next five years.

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ProducerTorre de Oña

In 1995, a century after five winemaking families combined to form the winery society of La Rioja Alta S.A., the company expanded into Rioja Alavesa, founding the Torre de Oña estate. Here, with old bush-trained Tempranillo, they produce a more modern style of Rioja where the terroir lends itself to a fuller, riper style of wine that is complemented by the use of French oak and shorter maturation. The Estate is an innovative ‘chateau’ concept, established long before the rise of single-vineyard Rioja, producing site-specific wine in contrast to the traditional blends of La Rioja Alta. Originally under the control of technical director Julio Saenz, today the winemaking is led by Alejandro Lopéz, named as one of the Top 10 next-generation Spanish winemakers by Pedro Ballasteros MW in Decanter magazine.

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