Discover Urbina Rioja at Fareham Wine Cellar

Bodegas Benito Urbina is a family-owned, single estate winery that has been passionately dedicated to cultivating vineyards and crafting quality wines for four generations. At Fareham Wine Cellar, we have been proudly importing and selling Urbina’s exceptional Rioja wines for over 20 years, captivated by their traditional yet innovative approach. They produce traditional medium to light-bodied Riojas and tend to age them at the Bodega for longer than most producers before release.

See the full range of Urbina Rioja Wines here.

Pedro Urbina, Benito’s son, has now taken a more hands on approach with the winery and is involved in many aspects of the business. He has pioneered some “high expression” wines, made much more in the modern concentrated style that is not typical of the Bodega. Look out for a wine called Plot and a new 100% Garnacha if you want to try these styles. I have to say I still prefer the more traditional style. They have also released an excellent Sparkling wine. Keep up to date with Pedro at his blog and at the Bodegas Urbina website. 

Urbina Reserva Especial

One of their standout wines is the Urbina Reserva Especial. This is a blend of 95% Tempranillo and 5% Mazuelo and Graciano. It is aged 18 months in American oak casks (12 months in new oak casks and 6 months in 7-year-old oak barrels) and is aged a minimum of 12 months in the bottle at the Bodega (but in practice a lot longer). At the time of writing the current vintage is 2006. Check the latest vintage of Urbina Reserva Especial here.

Urbina Reserva Especial Tasting notes

Urbina Reserva Especial is a good, clear and light red in colour with brown to orange-y notes around the rim. On the nose there are plenty of red fruits, slight balsalmic and vanilla tones and some farmyard aromas. Leathery and autumnal, quite a savoury nose. The palate is medium-bodied, soft, elegant, with silky tannins and is surprisingly fresh and clean given the wine’s age. There are concentrated red fruits (cherry) and plenty of oak, but it is well integrated and generally complex. The finish is soft, supple and has very good length, there is also a touch of sweetness. As Urbina’s wine age they really seem to develop quite Burgundian traits, and it has been mistaken for Pinot Noir in a blind tastings. Very well-balanced wine.

Food matching: try with any white meats, such as roast pork, it also goes very well with roast chicken.

Also in stock: Urbina Crianza, Urbina Seleccion and Urbina Gran Reserva.