It's always a pleasure to get mature vintages to taste, as Palacios is offering the 1978 Glorioso Gran Reserva as a limited library release. 1978 was considered an excellent vintage at the time, and the wine was produced with Tempranillo and 5% Viura, fermented in cement tanks with indigenous yeasts and matured in barrels (mostly made from American oak) for three years. The wine then rested in bottle for 38 years! The color is orange with some amber around the edges and the nose is fully developed with notes of tobacco, brick dust, paprika, roasted meat and used leather with a core of cherries in liqueur. The cork seemed new, so I guess it has been recorked before being released. The palate is silky, with fully resolved tannins, deep, penetrating flavors and great length. It's medium-bodied and quite fresh. It's ready now and it will hold it, but there is nothing to improve. 2,800 bottles released now.

A fine example of a mature red wine. Nicely developed from cellaring, with complex, spicey aromas, yet the flavors are quite fresh, showing clean, sup ple fruit and a measure of oak. Drink now through 1990.??–null??Region: Spain / Rioja Select to Add