Vina Jaraba Reserva - 2016 (750ml)

93 points Wine Review Online

Of all the wines in the current set of releases from this excellent, high-value producer, this one shows the character of its growing season most clearly. Elegant and complex and refined like so many 2016 wines (not only from Spain, but also Italy and France among others), this shows terrific class and complexity for a $16 wine. It is no richer than the 2017 Crianza from this house, so don’t buy it for “punch.” However, it shows an extremely high ratio of aroma and flavor to its weight, which is precisely the characteristic that makes for magic in wines from, say, Barbaresco or Burgundy. The key difference here is that this costs less than 1/3 of what you would pay for a wine of comparable quality from either of those regions. Enough said. When I first opened the five current releases from Jaraba, this was actually my favorite, though the Pago de la Jaraba surpassed it when fully aerated. I note this only to let you know that this is ready to enjoy now, and wow, is it ever enjoyable.
Michael Franz – March 9, 2021

92 points View from the Cellar

The 2016 Vina Jaraba “Reserva” from Pago de La Jaraba shares a similar blend with the Seleccion Especial- seventy percent tempranillo, twenty percent cabernet sauvignon and ten percent merlot. The wine is fermented in cement vats and aged for one year in a combination of seventy percent American barrels and thirty percent French. It is then assembled and given additional aging in vat, prior to bottling, and the further bottle aging in the cellar prior to release! The wine offers up a lovely and complex bouquet of cassis, dark berries, cigar ash, brown spices, a fine base of soil, cloves, a hint of Sultana raisin and a discreet framing of cedary oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a fine core, excellent soil signature, suave tannins and a long, beautifully balanced and very classy finish. This is an insanely good value, as this wine sells for only $16 per bottle in America! 2021-2040 - John Gilman - Issue #91 / February 2021