Martínez Lacuesta, “Reserva Especial” Rioja Sale

Martínez Lacuesta, “Reserva Especial” Rioja

Today marks the year’s second installment of our Old Rioja series, and it’s an ancient, scarcely seen treasure that will only ever be experienced by a few. Assuming you’re able to acquire one of the 64 available bottles, you may find it hard to believe this savory piece of history is approaching six decades of evolution.

For this, we have both perfect provenance and the finest growing season of the 1900s to thank. Seriously: Wine publications down to the Riojan growers themselves considered ’64 to be “a mythical year” that produced Gran Reservas of unfathomable cellar potential. As for this specific bottling, although no “tech sheet” is available, one can presume this Tempranillo-dominant Gran Reserva—informally labeled as “Reserva Especial”—matured several years in American oak before bottling in the late ’60s. From there, this parcel rested much longer, into the 1980s, when a Spanish collector purchased and relocated these gems into his private cellar. It didn’t leave that dark, cold place of rest until the end of last year. Apologies, but no more than two bottles per person.

To taste a perfectly stored wine from 1964 is a rare feat in and of itself, one that’s further magnified when it’s a Gran Reserva from Rioja. It’s hard finding wines with this staggering level of maturity in the first place, let alone those from a “vintage of the century,” but that’s not the only reason these antiques are scarce. According to Master of Wine Sarah Jane Evans, “there were only 26 bodegas producing and aging wine in Rioja” in 1964. Bodegas Martínez Lacuesta, however, was founded back in 1895, putting them in a much smaller group of 19th-century estates alongside icons López de Heredia and Marques de Riscal. To promote the winery abroad, certified “cool guy” Emiliano Martínez Lacuesta navigated the globe from 1906 to 1910, and by the end, their brand was represented in over 30 countries. Thus, a business of international renown was born. 

Today’s 1964 Gran Reserva largely consists of Tempranillo with a splash of Graciano and Mazuelo. Following at least three years of maturation in mostly American oak (they may have also had some French barrels in the cellar), the wines were bottled and laid to rest. Since then, this parcel has only moved twice: to a private cellar in northern Spain in the 1980s, and to our warehouse just this month. As for the “Reserva Especial” labeling, here’s what our Rioja contact had to say: “The familiar nomenclature of Crianza, Reserva, and Gran Reserva was introduced to Rioja only in 1982. Until that time, producers were at liberty to use whatever designations they liked to denote the differences between their wines.”

Proper service is important for a wine of this antiquity so please read the following carefully. First, stand your bottle upright for several days (or weeks, if you have the patience) to allow the sediment to settle and wine to “unwind.” When opening, I strongly recommend extracting the cork with an ah-so opener. If you don’t have one on hand, a wine key will suffice, and we opened our sample bottle to prove it. Our cork was halfway soaked and a touch friable, but it still came out intact after sinking the corkscrew all the way in and gently working it out centimeter by centimeter. Following, you should pour this ’64 slowly into Burgundy stems at a service temperature of 60 degrees. Give it a few minutes to open up in the glass. You’ll find an elegant, soft Rioja with savory flavors of dried red plum, redcurrant, wet strawberry, forest floor, damp leaves, sous bois, sandalwood, dried herbs, and tobacco. The palate is delicate and woodsy with a touch of funky, old cellar goodness that can also be found in mature Burgundy. Drink within 2-3 hours after opening and stash away any unopened bottles in a dark, cool place for consumption over the next decade.