It's curious how the 2006 Gran Reserva seems fuller and less advanced than the 2007 Reserva. It reveals tertiary aromas but also retains the core of ripe red and black fruit. The palate is round and balanced with some tannins remaining and weight to keep it up. The wine has aged in barrel for 42 months and in bottle for a further 52 months, so it's really ready to go. A good Gran Reserva

Cedar, tobacco and coffee notes frame dried cherry, herbal and mineral flavors in this traditional red. Shows a polished texture, revealing some density and a clean, spicy finish. Firm and fresh. Drink now through 2018. 800 cases made, 80 cases imported.??–TM??Region: Spain / Rioja Select to Add

The 2005 Gran Reserva goes back to the more strict classicism with balsamic notes of incense, leather, smoked meats and some spices. The medium-bodied palate reveals a round and polished wine, with sweet tannins that is ready to go. Drink 2014-2016. Martinez Lacuesta is one of the classical names from Haro, which was created in 1895 and now, 118 years later, is a one-million-bottle operation still run by the same family. Some stray bottles from (extremely) old vintages can be found in shops or restaurants and are well worth drinking (I’m thinking of a superb 1928 here). On top of their current (mostly) classical wines that are quite consistent if not terribly exciting, they also produce delicious vermouth, which after all is nothing but aromatized wine. Various American importers: Serendipity Wines (Texas), Dionysis Wines (Washington), Arborways Imports (Mass.) and Spanish Wine Collection (New York).

The 2004 Gran Reserva offers dark chocolate and cocoa on the bouquet that has a blackberry pastille note that surface with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with dry leather fruit and a rather attenuated dry finish that needs to demonstrate more vivacity and excitement. This is not a bad Gran Reserva, just rather?formulaic. Drink now-2015. Straight after my marathon tasting at Finca Allende, I headed towards the much larger winery of Bodegas Martinez Lacuesta just outside Haro. This traditional bodega was founded in 1895 by Felix Martinez Lacuesta and subsequently outgrew its original facilities. In 2009 they completed construction of their own impressive, tailor-made winery that became operative the following year. Tasting through their portfolio, I found the Crianza and Reserva wines a little conservative for my liking: competent and commercially sound, yet needing greater expression of personality and place. But they do come with a wallet-friendly price tag. More interesting are their special releases that are imbued with more elegance and complexity. Importer: various US importers including Serendipity Wines (Texas), www.serendipitywines.com; Dionysis Imports, Lorton, VA; tel. (703) 550-2250; Arborway Imports, Lexington, MA; tel. (781) 863-1753; and Spain Wine Collection, Congers, NY, www.spainwinecollection.com