Bodegas Martínez Lacuesta was founded in 1895 by Félix Martínez Lacuesta, a lawyer, journalist, and winemaker in Haro, Spain. His overarching quest was to improve the quality of Rioja wines, and under the tutelage of French winemakers, Bodegas Martínez Lacuesta became a benchmark of Rioja wines.

The Gran Reserva is aged 36 months in American oak with a following 54 months in bottle, which aptly harmonizes the Tempranillo, Graciano, and Mazuelo into a powerfully smooth, yet nuanced and delicate blend.  Complex fruit — plums and jammy blackberries mixed with spice, tobacco leaves, cedar and liquorice. Although it’s a forward wine, this is a fresh experience. Well-balanced on the palate with silky tannins and a long finish. A great choice with food, but truly a wine to sip and linger over.

“A “Haro wine” is how oenologist Álvaro Martínez describes this cuvée of Tempranillo with 10% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo, produced in a bodega on the outskirts of the town. Structured and very fresh for a ten-year-old wine, this is sappy and structured, with stylish oak and the presence and concentration to age further in bottle. 2023-30″
92 points, Tim Atkin, Tim Atkin’s Rioja Report, 2023