The 2009 Reserva Grande Rocim is an Alicante Bouschet that comes in at 15.5% alcohol and was aged for 18 months in new French oak, then held back another year in bottle. It probably won’t remind folks of the classic Alicantes that are famed in the region. It is in some respects a go-for-broke wine, rather different than the more elegant offerings from Rocim. It is hard to find the wine in here just now as it is drenched in vanilla at this point in its life. That improved with aeration, but it never came close to disappearing some three hours later, always making the wine seem sweet, a bit flat and a bit creamy. It may continue to improve, but as that aspect moderated, the relatively ripe tannins dropped off, too, and the wine began to lose what liveliness that it had. To be clear, this does have merit. There is decent structure and a moderately elegant mid-palate, particularly considering the go-for-broke indicators here. It does not taste quite as ponderous as its statistics might indicate. It seemed to handle its alcohol fairly reasonably, too, but overall it has a certain, straightforward aspect to it that seems out of sync with its aspirations. Call the score a compromise. If it is your style, perhaps you’ll like it better than I did. It is pleasing enough on its own terms, and it might yet improve a bit, but the price in the USA marketplace (it may be less expensive elsewhere) is going to be a major deterrent for most. That is surely related at least in part to this: there were just 2,200 bottles produced. Drink 2015-2023. Importer: Langdon Shiverick, Los Angeles, CA; tel. (213) 483-5900 or East Coast (646) 414-6298