I think in the past I was a little disappointed in a 1994 Gran Reserva compared to other vintages of Gran Reserva... This bottle makes up for it.

This is the best Reserva from this producer I think I've had. And it's drinking beautifully right now... seemed much younger than 15 years old.

Color is vibrant as well... Nice nose. Lots of masculine fruit and toasted flavors along with a subtle but very pure line of maraschino cherry. One of the most pure cherry flavors I've ever gotten in a wine. But it was elusive. So good complexity, very nice finish... easy drinking medium-bodied wine. If I see more, I'm in... especially at the $20 price I paid. 91pts.

I think Marques de Caceres wines will age (and reward aging) much longer than critics predict in their tasting notes. I've had Gran Reservas as old as the '78 vintage that drank well not that long ago.

WineBid has a '94 Crianza at the moment, but it's at $35 to start. If it was this Reserva... I'd consider it... but that's crazy for a crianza.

Well you have a great year, one of the greatest really. It may not be all that crazy for a crianza. What's the difference really? Keep your reserva a little longer and it's a reserva. I have some crianzas from 1982 and while they're fading, it's over 25 years. Gran Reserva is a little different. Whether Cáceres will age that long or not, I can't really say.

quote:

Originally posted by GregT:Keep your reserva a little longer and it's a reserva.

I assume you mean "Keep your crianza..." but is that actually true? Do they all get the same fruit, vinified the same way, with the same time in wood, and only differ in bottle age before release?

That's what happens when you post after drinking. Yeah I meant crianza. As to your question, it's interesting because the labeling has only to do with aging reqs, not vinification.

In most places crianza only requires six months in wood, but in Rioja and Ribera del Duero it requires at least a year, so if there is any difference, it would come in the grape selection. You'd think they shouldn't get the same fruit because there should be no reason for a crianza then - everyone would simply make a reserva and sell it for more money.

But then on the other hand, how dumb is it to take your worst grapes and dump them into wood for a year? If you want anything left, you have to use decent grapes. As a result, some crianzas are pretty good deals for aging.

Fernandez for example, used to sell his Pesquera and tell people that if they kept it for a year, they'd have a reserva. Finally someone pointed out that it was dumb to tell people that, so he stopped.

Lopez de Heredia had a rosado from a not so great year. After leaving it in cask and then bottle, they tasted it. Son of a gun, it was pretty good. So they debated whether to call it a gran reserva or not, because in fact, that's what it is now, based solely on the aging.

But people are moving away from those categories anyway. For ex, right now I'm looking at a bottle of Alion and a bottle of Valbuena and neither says reserva or crianza.