Bodegas Altanza is about balance, and this excellent '09 Reserva is a fine example of what this outstanding producer can achieve. It's restrained yet expressive, complex yet accessible, pointing both to the past and to the future, earthy barnyard and leather aromas giving way to layers of flavour including cherry, raspberry, currant, and dried fruit, surrounded by herbs and with a core of rocky minerality, the many sweet/sour and fruity/savoury notes mingling nicely, the tannins nicely integrated. It's a bit closed, maybe too restrained, but with time the expert balance shines through.

2015 03

Medium-high intensity nose with lovely vanillan oak, earth, blackcurrant, blackberry, fig and dark fruits aromas. Medium+ bodied with good structure on the palate. Floral, dried fruit & herbs, dark berries, and wet earth flavour profile. Very good acids, supple tannins, nicely balanced throughout. Slightly rustic, and very good length on the finish. Tasted Oct/2014.

Nice wine with some earthy notes to add complexity. Nice wine but a tad boring in my opinion.

NIce Rioja here, fruity with very good length.
Good value
Tasted December 2015

Pales in comparison to the superb '05. This just seems simple, with pleasant grapey fruit and sweet oak, but little more. The depth and complexity just seem average to me, with an average finish. Perhaps I had an inferior bottle, though the wine was in in no way flawed. Tasted June 2015.