Bodegas Faustino, Rioja Gran Reserva (Spain) 2010

 A very good wine from a flat-out great vintage, this 2010 bears exactly no resemblance to some earlier releases of Gran Reserva from this house.  That observation might strike some readers as a slam against the consistency of the wine, but my intention is to convey that this house turns out wines reflective of the particular growing season rather than cookie-cutter renditions to avoid jarring anyone (bad cookie jar pun — sorry).  For example, the 2001 was amazingly open and flashy and bretty and wild from the time it was first released, and though I don’t theoretically approve of wines that show overtly bretty characters, I loved that wine and never stopped loving it until I ran out of bottles.  By contrast, the 2010 vintage — from a year that achieved full ripeness at high acidity levels — is still strikingly taut after 12 years since the fruit was picked, and with a lot more new-ish oak showing.  I would usually object to how oaky this is now, but the fact is that the oak will be resolved at about the same time the acidity calms down and integrates with the fruit, which is indicative of very smart winemaking.  But to be clear — this wine will not come together fully for at least another 5 to 7 years, and 10 is a better bet for those who have decent storage conditions.  When fully mature, this will likely merit another 3 or 4 points and possibly become a truly great wine, but better that I score conservatively for now and see what happens.