Viña Otano, Rioja Gran Reserva (La Rioja, Spain) 2015

 I’ve let my press sample of this wine settle for a few months before pulling the cork, and perhaps that’s why my review differs from a few others that I happen to have read.  I like the wine better, but for different reasons.  To my taste, at least on the night when I caught it, this is admirably elegant and complex for a 2015 Gran Reserva at this point in its developmental trajectory, with lovely aromatic notes that are at least as much fruit-driven as wood-derived.  That is a clear virtue in my estimation — though I’m perfectly prepared to age Rioja Gran Reservas for 15 or 20 years — for the simple reason that only a tiny percentage of world-wide consumers have either the cellar or the patience to do that.  From a notably hot and dry year, this is fresh and lithe, with excellent balance of fruit (red-toned, mostly) to fresh acidity, spicy oak and tannin.  Sure, it will be much more complex and interesting a decade from now, and if you do indeed have a cellar and sufficient patience to provide that much time (or more) for this to blossom fully, that’s exactly what I recommend.  But the fact is that this is delicious already, and in its Burgundian style (no more weight, just as much acidity and better managed tannins), this is ready to enjoy right now, and with poultry or veal or pork or duck — not just a steak.