One Hundred Years in the Ground — Rioja Alta's Finest Old-Vine Tempranillo

The 2015 Taron Cepas Centenarias Rioja Alta is exactly what its name declares: Tempranillo from century-old vines in the Rioja Alta, the finest sub-region of Spain's most celebrated red wine region. Cepas Centenarias — century-old vines — is not a marketing term here. These are vines that were planted before the First World War, that survived phylloxera, civil war, and a century of harvests, and that now produce tiny yields of fruit of extraordinary concentration and complexity. Ten years of bottle age has done the rest.

My Wine Man on Bodegas Taron

Bodegas Taron is a small, respected family producer based in Haro — the historic wine capital of the Rioja Alta, home to some of the region's most celebrated bodegas. Taron farms old-vine Tempranillo with a focus on minimal intervention and maximum expression of terroir. The Cepas Centenarias is their old-vine flagship: a wine that could only come from vines of this age, from this sub-region, from this family's commitment to preserving what others might have pulled out and replanted decades ago.

Tasting Notes

Aromas of black cherry, black plum, and mocha pave the way for flavours of plum, blackberry, caramel, clove, and thyme. Barely-there tannins build in volume before easing off into a soft but lingering, savoury finish — the hallmark of old-vine Tempranillo that has had the time to fully integrate and express itself.

Style & Drinking Window

Medium-bodied with silky, well-integrated tannins and a long, savoury finish. Drinking beautifully now with 10 years of bottle age. Decant for 30 minutes to allow the aromatics to fully open. Will continue to hold through 2030. Pair with roast lamb, slow-cooked beef, aged Manchego, or a classic Rioja table spread.

Why This Is a Smart Buy

At HK$219, the Taron Cepas Centenarias delivers century-old-vine Rioja Alta Tempranillo with 10 years of bottle age from a small, respected Haro producer. Old-vine wines of this age and pedigree from Rioja Alta rarely reach the market at this price — this is a genuine discovery for those who know what they're looking at.

Looking for a Different Style?

Explore more premium aged Spanish reds from different producers:

• 2019 Bodegas Muga Torre Muga Rioja DOCa — Muga's flagship Rioja from Haro, built on the same Rioja Alta terroir with a longer track record and wider recognition
• 2015 Bodegas Muga Prado Enea Gran Reserva — Muga's iconic Gran Reserva from the same 2015 vintage — a natural companion and step up in complexity
• 2017 Torres Perpetual Priorat DOCa — Spain's other great red wine region, Priorat, producing structured, age-worthy Garnacha and Carignan of the highest order

Life's too short for bad wine.