Faustino, Rioja Gran Reserva I, 2001

The cobweb-frosted bottle is one of Rioja's most iconic sights, and inside is one of the trade's great library bargains. Faustino I Gran Reserva spends years in American oak followed by long bottle aging at the winery in Oyon, only released when the house deems it ready. The 2001 vintage is a Rioja classic, and at twenty-four years on it is drinking exactly as intended: gentle, savory, fully integrated, with no rough edges. The Martinez family has been doing this since 1861, and the patience shows. Pour it into a wide glass and let it open over a long meal. This is a fully mature Tempranillo of the old school, the kind of bottle you can no longer fake.