Glorioso Cosecha Especial 1966 Gran Reserva

Wine: Glorioso Cosecha Especial 1966 Gran Reserva

Winery: Bodegas Palacio (Laguardia, Álava)
Appellation: D.O.Ca. Rioja
Varietals: 90% Tempranillo, 10% Garnacha
ABV: [Not specified] 

Winemaking
Grapes sourced from small growers in Rioja Alavesa within a 15-kilometer radius of the winery. The wine spent one year in large wooden tuns to complete fermentation and settle before being transferred to wood. It matured for 24 to 36 months in seasoned 225-liter American oak barrels. Prior to its commercial release, it was aged for a minimum of 3 years in the bottle within the historic subterranean cellars (calados) of the foundational winery in Laguardia. 

 

Tasting Notes

 

Appearance: Very pale ruby of medium body; clean, with reddish and orange highlights. It features a broad rim with no discernible variation against the meniscus.

 

Nose: Closely resembling the 1964 vintage, it follows a style reminiscent of the traditional Riojan claretes. Initially shy on the nose but notably clean—despite a cork in terrifying condition, practically split and fully saturated. It reveals a soft, classically profiled red with the hallmark aromas of traditional Riojan aging (leather, barnyard, spices, smoke, and old wood), all supported by an increasingly prominent core of candied red fruit. It gains intensity with aeration, revealing notes of dried flowers, raisins, and candied nuts, partially compensating for its lack of deeper complexity.

 

Palate: Agile, lean, fresh, and refined. The wine remains vibrant thanks to a surprising acidity and a total absence of alcoholic heat, delivering elegant bitters, balsamic undertones, citrus (nectarine), piquant hints, and red fruit preserves. It possesses a delicate structure—that of a poised and honest wine—evoking the claretes of Bodegas Bilbaínas: light in color, high in freshness, and possessing a "bomb-proof" longevity. All perfectly balanced.

 

Personal Score: 92
Tasting Group Score: 92

Reproducción de la etiqueta del Mosto Palacio, uno de los zumos de uva más famosos en España. En los años 80 se llegaba a vender entre 3 y 4 millones de botellas.