This was again one of David's generous contributions. The bottle must be over a hundred euros but I think we performed on par with its stature and soaked up the last drops with breadcrumbs. Decanted in a Pomerol Magnum fishbowl, this showed an incredible nose of complex Ribera with spice and wet earth but also already tertiary notes of leather and tobacco. Plenty of fruit present with a darker berry profile than Rioja, unlikely to be mistaken in spite of those animal notes. The nose was truly engaging; then you'd want a little more structure in the palate (so what? I'm a drabber, and I like my tannin visible...). It was a joy to follow the evolution of this wine in the course of two hours. The lamb rack was a treat even to a fishetarian... 91

Is this a %100 Tempranillo?

And any idea who I could get some through?

The house usually throws into the Crianza some 15% or so of slightly overripe CS &/or Merlot, but I really don't know if they followed this procedure for their (1st ever) Gran Reserva. I believe there was very little produced and it's horribly expensive here at least... Really not a clue about export availability...
A much easier option would be the 1999 Reserva after a few years. Some of us commented (rather ungratefully perhaps) that we'd have DIED for a mag of the 99 Reserva which is absolutely stunning wine with lots more fruit now. God knows about its evolution in the future, though.
1996 was the last seriously GREAT Vintage in Ribera so no wonder the guys had their chance for the release of a Gran Reserva, but I guess that made it disappear fairly quickly...

Cheers Gastro,
As I have said in the past I'm trying to improve my Spanish wine knowledge (more with practical than theoretical expirience- books and vicarious notes just don't do the wines justice!!) and am looking out for classical examples of Spanish "greats". I appreciate your ntoes greatly thank you.

After you scored that goal with Alenza I too would be interested in Ribera del Duero Gran Reservas from 1996! But Alenza being a Pesquera product they surely have ultradeveloped distribution channels and huge production.
A pity that these guys already have such small production; here we usually begin to starve for the next release while there's still lots in stock of other houses. Crianza 2000 was first opened at the Tasca by New Year's day whereas 7 months later some other Crianzas had barely hit the shelves. Curiously enough, it was ready to drink even then...
I know it does reach the US because both WS and RP have reviewed the Crianza and Reserva (RP rating being WS+3 invariably) but not a clue about other countries...

I'll try through a couple of independants. Ted Mony imports the Coto De Hayas wines along with Priorat Onix wines (I've started getting into these.), and he regularly picks up differant wines for special requests. I'll see if he can track some down, but I may just have to hold my breath and wait for the next great vintage for wines of this level. Until then I will try some of the "lesser" wines. I've enjoyed most of the wines I have found so far. Thanks for the prompt reply.