2015 Bodegas Escudero Serna Imperial Rioja Reserva

The conversation had stopped at our judging panel—the red wine in our glass was absolutely en fuego. We were on the phone with Bodegas Escudero’s importer within minutes to claim an allocation of their 2015 Serna Imperial Reserva—a beautifully crafted bottle from one of Rioja’s best vintages this century. 

This wine has hit a stage in its evolution where the edges have softened and the flavors have harmonized, but it still retains the energy and vitality of youth. And the aromatics? We’d pay full price just to smell this alongside roast lamb or rosemary-scented chicken braised in white wine.

Bodegas Escudero dates back more than a century, to when Juan Escudero first started making wine in a small mountainside cave. The winery gained momentum when his grandson Benito, inspired by his father and grandfather, dove into the family business. Benito’s spirit is alive in the current Bodegas Escudero wines, which are sourced from the family’s holdings in La Rioja—sites whose vines average 70 years of age. Most are planted in poor, stony soils on the southern slopes of Monte Yerga, where the extreme climate and diurnal temperature swing create Tempranillo of beautiful ripeness and verve.

Serna Imperial hails from the Cuesta la Reina estate, located on a sun-drenched hillside. Hand-harvested and -selected in the vineyard, it’s fermented in stainless steel tanks on indigenous yeasts before spending at least 24 months in aged American oak. This bottle has been at rest in the winery cellars since the all-time great 2015 vintage. Now blossoming fully, it’s a prime example of why we think vintage Rioja is one of the most precious wine experiences available.

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Acidity
• Tannin

• ABV 14.00%
• 1 hour
• Now – 2035
• % Tempranillo
• Serving temperature – 60°
• Cork