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2019 Miguel Merino Gran Reserva Rioja

2019 Miguel Merino Gran Reserva Rioja

94RP
94VN
93TA
91JD

94

Wine Advocate

Review Date: 02/2025

There are not many Gran Reserva wines produced by small growers, and the 2019 Gran Reserva from Miguel Merino is one of them. It has finesse, harmony and balance, which was his goal here. It was produced with Tempranillo and a pinch of Graciano from vines on sandy soils in the lieux-dits of Bigorta and Resaco from Briones. The grapes fermented in a 5,000-liter stainless steel tank with indigenous yeasts, and the wine matured in French oak barrels for three years. This is one for the long haul in this powerful and complete year, with elegance, ripeness without excess at 14.5% alcohol and fine, silky tannins. (LG)

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Price: $54.99
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Professional Reviews

94

Vinous

Review Date: 05/2025
The 2019 Gran Reserva Miguel Merino is Tempranillo with 4% Graciano from Rioja. This aged for three years in barrels. The nose is complex, opening with fine oak and cedar layered over cherry, plum, subtle spice aromas and liqueur-like, jammy hints. Dry, full-bodied and enveloping, the tannins combine to deliver volume, juiciness and depth of flavor. Exceptionally expressive for an extensively aged red, this is a wine of precision, well-crafted in terms of grape selection, harvest timing and oak management. (JH)

93

Tim Atkin

Review Date: 02/2025
Showing a little more new oak than the Reserva bottling, which I prefer, this is also a bolder and more structured red. Tempranillo and 5% Graciano provide the raw material here, with notes of forest floor, wood spices and firmish tannins complemented by savoury red berry flavours. 2026-32

91

Jeb Dunnuck

Review Date: 07/2025
The 2019 Gran Reserva is lengthy and mineral-driven, juicy and supple in citrus and raspberry. The addition of 5% Graciano lifts and brightens the wine, which comes from some of the oldest vineyards in Briones planted to sandy soils, some of which date back to 1918. It is an elegant, full-bodied Gran Reserva in its youth, aged 36 months in French oak, two years in new and a third year in older barrels. Cohesive, well-integrated, and layered, it should age well another 10-15 years. (VB)

Staff Reviews

Rachael Ryan
K&L Buyer
Review Date: 06/2026
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Released alongside the same vintage of the Reserva Rioja, the Miguel Merino Gran Reserva Rioja ages for three years (as opposed to two for the Reserva) in barrel. Made from mostly Tempranillo with a touch of Graciano, the wine spends its first two years in 100% new French oak barrels, and then it is racked into used French oak barrels for its third year, to allow for seamless integration of the toasty oak aromas. This sort of attention to detail is just what sets the Miguel Merino Riojas apart, this one included. The wine is both elegant and powerful, achieving a harmonious balance between its firm, well-built structure and the densely woven red and black fruit notes. As the minutes pass in the glass, the wine just seems to gain in complexity, further unveiling woodsy forest floor and moss aromas, along with subtle licorice and dried thyme. There is a fine balance between freshness and maturity, with vibrant acidity carrying the wine into a long, lingering finish. Muscular and delicate at the same time, this Gran Reserva is such a wonderful example of the finesse and understated beauty Rioja can achieve.
Scott Beckerley
Review Date: 05/2026
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Of the trio of new Rioja releases from Miguel Merino, the Gran Reserva is the most traditional. That being said, the Merino style always balances "old world" and "new world" extremely well. For a Gran Reserva, this bottling has the perfect amount of tobacco, herbs and cedar wood. Though the fruit is quite dark, a combo of dried and black cherries, the balancing elements make it very complex. There is also a red cassis-like fruit and just a hint of fig. It all finishes very cleanly with the nicest subtle amount of "bite". For a Gran Reserva, the price is also more than reasonable.
ML
Matthew Landau Hassan
Review Date: 05/2026
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This is Rioja with real gravitas. The nose opens with dried cherry, tobacco leaf, cedar, worn leather, and sweet baking spice, but there’s still a vibrant core of red fruit keeping everything alive and lifted. The palate is silky and layered, unfolding slowly with notes of black tea, balsamic, dusty earth, and finely integrated oak. What makes this especially compelling is the balance between maturity and energy—it carries the soul of traditional Rioja, but with remarkable precision and freshness underneath the depth. Long, elegant, and quietly dramatic, this feels like a wine made to linger over for hours rather than simply drink.
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Notes

The Miguel Merino Gran Reserva is sourced from some of their very best sites, old vineyards that were planted in the 1950s and 1960s in some of the highest hills surrounding the village of Briones, with steeper slopes of limestone rich clay soils. The wine is principally Tempranillo, but there is a small amount of Graciano. Fermentation occurs in stainless steel with native yeasts, Malolactic occurs in barrel. After fermentation, the wine is aged for two years in new French oak, then moved into used barrels for an additional year. It is aged for an additional two years in bottle before release. Miguel Merino liked to call the style of this wine an “updated classic.” This has the classic power and intensity that the style calls for, but it is updated with a fresher, more youthful fruit component as well, and a different range of spice flavors that come from the avoidance of American oak. This has the elegance that we expect from the bodega, backed with intensity and complexity that make this a special occasion wine. Drink tonight, with some decanting, or put it in the cellar and enjoy over the next 10-15+ years.

Product Details

Origin: Rioja, Spain

Type/Varietal: Tempranillo

Alcohol Content: 14.5%

SKU: #1952858

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