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Wine Advocate (96)
The village wine 2018 Corullón has, for the first time, the new category Vino de Villa (village wine!). It comes from around 90 plots of their own vineyards. In the cooler and more Atlantic 2018, they had more rain than the previous two vintages and a lower average temperature, and they think it was excellent for their wines ("a modern version of 2001," Ricardo Pérez Palacios told me). There are around 8% white grapes here, and the wine fermented in oak vats with punching down, and the élevage was in a combination of barriques, bocoyes and foudres, oak containers of different sizes, and was short of 11 months. This is the modern version of 2001 and 2012, and in 2018, it has the part of Moncerbal (almost 40%) that was not in the 2017 (because of hail, the Moncerbal bottling was not produced in 2017), so it goes back to the classical style. There is terrific balance here, great purity, with the essence of slate; here, we move from the fruit of the Pétalos to the herbs. But there is complexity and nuance, violets, rockrose, sap, resin, fern, cinnamon and citrus, all very subtle and harmonious. The flavors have similar purity, and if these wines never have high acidity, there is great freshness, soft citrus, all very subtle and velvety. This is sooo easy to drink it could be dangerous... They produced 23,034 bottles and other formats, half-bottles, magnums, double magnums and jeroboams. It was bottled in January 2020.Inc. VAT£217.24 -
Wine Advocate (97)
The white from Dominio del Águila is one of the first whites from the Ribera del Duero appellation, which just approved the category in September 2019. It's also one of the finest whites from the region (and from Spain), used by the appellation to present the new category of wines as an example of the aging potential of the style, which at this address was produced in 2012, 2014 and 2015 and until now sold as generic Vino de España. The fourth vintage bottled is this 2016 Blanco, which is insultingly young and backward, with incredible tension, 13% alcohol and a pH of 3.08, which is only achieved in cool vintages, and crafted as the best white Burgundies, as it's produced with the idea of a true vin de garde. This 2016 took almost two years to complete fermentation, because it ferments in oak barrels in a very cold cellar. This is the finest vintage, with citrus notes, hints of smoke and incredible tension and freshness in the palate. This has the tenderness of a baby and should have a slower development than any of the previous vintages. It was hand bottled—unfined and unfiltered after 32 months in barrel—into 4,855 bottles and 80 magnums in June 2019. These are wines that deserve being revisited a few years after their bottling...Inc. VAT£1,339.24 -
Wine Advocate (98)
The scarcest and rarest of the reds is the single-vineyard 2015 Canta la Perdiz, produced with the field-blend grapes of one of the oldest vineyards in the village of La Aguilera, a plot at 890 meters in altitude that has sandy and limestone-rich soils that give the wine a specific texture reminiscent of chalk. It's planted with a field blend dominated by Tempranillo but with small percentages of many other grapes, and the aim is to be able to ferment them all together. The ripeness of 2015 allowed for all the different varieties to achieve good ripeness, and they were all included in the wine, which fermented with full clusters and indigenous yeasts. It was foot trodden, and the malolactic and slow and long aging was in French oak barrels and lasted 31 months. It's a wine of perfume and finesse, gentle and tender, attractive and showy, developing nice complexity in the glass, with a more Mediterranean profile, some fennel and aromatic herbs. It has a velvety texture with very fine tannins. It also has very good freshness and balance, and it finishes long and dry. 1,220 bottles and 24 magnums were filled in May 2018.Inc. VAT£619.61 -
Wine Advocate (98)
The scarcest and rarest of the reds is the single-vineyard 2015 Canta la Perdiz, produced with the field-blend grapes of one of the oldest vineyards in the village of La Aguilera, a plot at 890 meters in altitude that has sandy and limestone-rich soils that give the wine a specific texture reminiscent of chalk. It's planted with a field blend dominated by Tempranillo but with small percentages of many other grapes, and the aim is to be able to ferment them all together. The ripeness of 2015 allowed for all the different varieties to achieve good ripeness, and they were all included in the wine, which fermented with full clusters and indigenous yeasts. It was foot trodden, and the malolactic and slow and long aging was in French oak barrels and lasted 31 months. It's a wine of perfume and finesse, gentle and tender, attractive and showy, developing nice complexity in the glass, with a more Mediterranean profile, some fennel and aromatic herbs. It has a velvety texture with very fine tannins. It also has very good freshness and balance, and it finishes long and dry. 1,220 bottles and 24 magnums were filled in May 2018.Inc. VAT£1,621.24 -
Wine Advocate (100)
I was really looking forward to the single-vineyard red 2016 Canta la Perdiz, their rarest and finest bottling. It comes from a one of the oldest plots in the village of La Aguilera found at 890 meters in altitude on sand and limestone soils that give it a special personality and a chalky texture. The full clusters fermented with indigenous yeasts in concrete vats, and the wine went through seven months of a slow malolactic fermentation in oak barrels, where it completed an élevage of 31 months. The wine delivers what I was expecting, incredible finesse and elegance while filling your mouth. It is nuanced, perfumed and with a crystalline personality, with light and energy. It has very fine, chalky tannins that give it a velvety texture. It has incredible length. It's a world-class red that should develop for a very long time in bottle but also drink well throughout its life, even as young as now. This is one of the finest wines they have produced at this domaine, among the greatest in Ribera del Duero, fine, crystalline and full of Ribera character, serious but with a hedonist side. 1,789 bottles and 50 magnums were filled in May 2019.Inc. VAT£1,957.24 -
Wine Advocate (97)
I also tasted the 2017 Canta la Perdiz from the low-yielding and warm year marked by spring frost. The Tempranillo field blend clusters fermented in concrete vats with natural yeasts after being foot trodden. The wine went through malolactic and 39 months of aging in oak barrels, mostly French, for 39 months. It has the perfume and approachability of the 2017s, but there's a lot more finesse here, the quality of the tannins is superb, and there's great balance and freshness. Another 2017 that transcends the vintage. The label is different each vintage, and in this different year, it does have a surprising, somewhat Ponsot-like label...1,103 bottles and 10 magnums were filled in March 2021.Inc. VAT£1,933.24 -
Wine Advocate (99)
Their Gran Reserva is released a good six or seven years after the harvest, and they consider the 2013 Peñas Aladas Gran Reserva still too young. It comes from small plots of some of the oldest vineyards in the village of La Aguilera, in the zone known as Peñas Aladas in a cooler place at 870 to 890 meters in altitude. The topsoils are sandy, and then there is clay and a limestone-and-marl mother rock that they consider perfect. The dominant grape is Tempranillo, but in these old plots, there is always a mix of varieties—Albillo, Bruñal, Garnacha, Bobal, Cariñena—and the aim is to ferment them all together (ripeness permitting). This fermented with full clusters that were foot trodden, and malolactic was in barrel and extremely slow (19 months). It matured in barrel for five years. It is an incredibly backward wine, young and undeveloped, with tons of gunpowder, earthy and mineral, diesel-like, complex and with a magnetic attraction that makes you go back over and over again. It has pungent and pristine flavors, with amazing precision and symmetry, like laser cut, long, with very fine tannins and a supple, almost salty finish. This wine should age forever in bottle. This wine is just magic. 1,671 bottles and 69 magnums were filled in September 2018. The initial 2010 is now glorious, but I agree, still young...Inc. VAT£583.61 -
Wine Advocate (99)
Their Gran Reserva is released a good six or seven years after the harvest, and they consider the 2013 Peñas Aladas Gran Reserva still too young. It comes from small plots of some of the oldest vineyards in the village of La Aguilera, in the zone known as Peñas Aladas in a cooler place at 870 to 890 meters in altitude. The topsoils are sandy, and then there is clay and a limestone-and-marl mother rock that they consider perfect. The dominant grape is Tempranillo, but in these old plots, there is always a mix of varieties—Albillo, Bruñal, Garnacha, Bobal, Cariñena—and the aim is to ferment them all together (ripeness permitting). This fermented with full clusters that were foot trodden, and malolactic was in barrel and extremely slow (19 months). It matured in barrel for five years. It is an incredibly backward wine, young and undeveloped, with tons of gunpowder, earthy and mineral, diesel-like, complex and with a magnetic attraction that makes you go back over and over again. It has pungent and pristine flavors, with amazing precision and symmetry, like laser cut, long, with very fine tannins and a supple, almost salty finish. This wine should age forever in bottle. This wine is just magic. 1,671 bottles and 69 magnums were filled in September 2018. The initial 2010 is now glorious, but I agree, still young...Inc. VAT£1,193.63 -
Wine Advocate (99)
Their Gran Reserva is released a good six or seven years after the harvest, and they consider the 2013 Peñas Aladas Gran Reserva still too young. It comes from small plots of some of the oldest vineyards in the village of La Aguilera, in the zone known as Peñas Aladas in a cooler place at 870 to 890 meters in altitude. The topsoils are sandy, and then there is clay and a limestone-and-marl mother rock that they consider perfect. The dominant grape is Tempranillo, but in these old plots, there is always a mix of varieties—Albillo, Bruñal, Garnacha, Bobal, Cariñena—and the aim is to ferment them all together (ripeness permitting). This fermented with full clusters that were foot trodden, and malolactic was in barrel and extremely slow (19 months). It matured in barrel for five years. It is an incredibly backward wine, young and undeveloped, with tons of gunpowder, earthy and mineral, diesel-like, complex and with a magnetic attraction that makes you go back over and over again. It has pungent and pristine flavors, with amazing precision and symmetry, like laser cut, long, with very fine tannins and a supple, almost salty finish. This wine should age forever in bottle. This wine is just magic. 1,671 bottles and 69 magnums were filled in September 2018. The initial 2010 is now glorious, but I agree, still young...Inc. VAT£1,123.24 -
Wine Advocate (96)
The Gran Reserva from 2014 had also been bottled for over one year when I tasted the wines, so I included the 2014 Peñas Aladas Gran Reserva in this report, although the wine might take some time to reach the market. This is a rare wine, matured in oak barrels for 45 months and produced in limited quantities in a painfully slow process to create a wine with very high aging potential that, even when released some five or six years after the harvest, feels too young and a little raw. It feels a lot gentler and approachable than the 2013 I tasted next to it; it's more aromatic and expressive, complex and at the same time easy to understand. The palate is also approachable and tender, with very fine-grained tannins, when in reality, it's very powerful and tannic, but the balance is terrific. It should develop beautifully in bottle, and the Ribera character, which is there, should be even more evident with a little more time. 3,051 bottles and 43 magnums were filled unfined and unfiltered by hand in June 2018.Inc. VAT£1,039.24 -
Wine Advocate (98)
Their Gran Reserva style red 2015 Peñas Aladas Gran Reserva had a very long aging in barrel, a total of 54 months, including six months of malolactic fermentation. This comes from a myriad of small plots of some of the oldest vines in the village of La Aguilera in the same zone that names the wine, at 870 to 890 meters in altitude. The valley receives very cold winds from the Duero River, and the vineyards are surrounded by junipers, pines and oak trees, which makes it up to three degrees Celsius lower than the rest of the village, one of the coldest places in the whole of Ribera del Duero. The soils have a layer of sand that is gradually mixed with clay until around one meter deep, and then there's a layer of marl and limestone, a textbook soil for the vine. 2015 was a powerful vintage, and there was some frost that also delivered a little more concentration. The wine has an old Ribera del Duero style, with some rusticity and lots of power, energy and concentration but with great balance. It has plenty of fine tannins and lots of chalkiness. This should be very long lived. 2,223 bottles and 41 magnums were hand bottled unfiltered and unfined in May 2020.Inc. VAT£1,099.24 -
Jeb Dunnuck (95)
The 2015 Reserva checks in a Tempranillo-dominated red with 15% comprising a field blend of Garnacha, Bobal, and Albillo, all aged 35 months in barrel. Gorgeous blueberries, smoked blackberries, roasted herbs, chocolate, lead pencil, and graphite notes dominate the bouquet, and it's medium to full-bodied, with a concentrated, powerful texture, lots of tannins, and a great finish. It certainly shows the warmer style of the vintage in its texture and tannins, yet it stays balanced and offers notable freshness as well as a great finish. It has another decade of prime drinking.Inc. VAT£645.37 -
Wine Advocate (97)
Quite different from the 2015 was the 2016 Reserva, a red from a cooler year with good yields, so they were able to increase production of this wine over twofold and increase the quality! It took some seven months to complete fermentation, and the élevage in barrel lasted some 29 months. It has an incredible nose, violets and something musky, intriguing, complex and nuanced, mysterious and difficult to define, with some notes reminiscent of soy sauce. The palate is seamless and with terrific balance, a silky texture and very fine but chalky tannins. This is an amazing Ribera del Duero. 18,834 bottles and 519 magnums produced. It was bottled in April 2019.Inc. VAT£126.41 -
Wine Advocate (97)
Quite different from the 2015 was the 2016 Reserva, a red from a cooler year with good yields, so they were able to increase production of this wine over twofold and increase the quality! It took some seven months to complete fermentation, and the élevage in barrel lasted some 29 months. It has an incredible nose, violets and something musky, intriguing, complex and nuanced, mysterious and difficult to define, with some notes reminiscent of soy sauce. The palate is seamless and with terrific balance, a silky texture and very fine but chalky tannins. This is an amazing Ribera del Duero. 18,834 bottles and 519 magnums produced. It was bottled in April 2019.Inc. VAT£352.84 -
Tim Atkin MW (96)
Produced in what Jorge Monzón calls the "tragic", frost-hit 2017 vintage, when yields were down 85%, this shows that, in the right hands, what survived was often very good indeed. Marrying Tinto Fino with 5% Monastrell and 2% Albillo Mayor, all of it aged in old wood, this is herbal, chalky and intense, with stem ginger and wild strawberry flavours, fine tannins and impressive length.Inc. VAT£379.24 -
Decanter (97)
This dark, relatively tight-knit Rioja proves that the Gran Reserva category doesn't just indicate the supremely well-aged, relaxed and reposeful style of Rioja, but can also serve to draw drinkers' attention to outstanding wines of density and tenacity which still have a way to run along their potential ageing trajectories. Look out for dark, urgent fruits here sweetened and back-lit by cunningly angled oak, with intense, deep, fresh and searching flavours in which the 10% of Graciano seems to be working overtime. A Rioja of innate drama.Inc. VAT£265.24 -
Jancis Robinson (18)
95% Syrah, 5% Viognier, vineyards at 950 m above sea level. Aged for 12 months in a mixture of 650- and 500-litre used French oak. Spectacular and intense dark fruit on the nose! Blackcurrant, blackberries, cassis, violets, smoke and minerality. On the palate, it is rich and deep but not massive. It has mouth-watering acidity, ripe tannins, and elegant oak integration. I find this vintage more balanced than previous ones. The wine has precise fruit expression. 2018 has been the greatest year for this wine. (FC)Inc. VAT£156.04 -
Wine Advocate (95)
The 2022 Albahra is from a year of good quality and good quantity, when the blend was slightly different, 62% Garnacha Tintorera, 30% Moravia Agria, 5% Garnacha and 3% Pardillo, because they rented a vineyard where they also have white (Pardillo) grapes (they might produce a white in 2023). 2022 in the Mediterranean zone was a dry year but it was not as warm as in other zones of Spain, and they think it was the best year so far for the Moravia Agria. So, the wines have more freshness and more acidity. Another big change is that 2022 was the first year that was vinified in their new winery in the zone. So, it's a much fresher wine than the 2021, which was a warmer year. 65,000 bottles and 900 magnums produced. It was bottled in June 2023.Inc. VAT£511.27 -
Wine Advocate (98)
The heat from late August didn't affect much the grapes that were used for the 2022 Palo Blanco, as they are picked much later than the grapes from other zones of Tenerife. So, the 2022 vintage in Los Realejos is a lot fresher than in Taganana or La Orotava. In fact, I liked the palate of this 2022 better than that of the 2021; it's vibrant, lovely and fresh. The nose is still a little reductive, and the notes of flowers and herbs take time to emerge. 13,000 bottles and 167 magnums produced. It was bottled in July 2023.Inc. VAT£379.24 -
Wine Advocate (98)
There's a little more ripeness in the 2022 Táganan Parcela Margalagua, a jump in complexity and depth from the regular Táganan. It has fruit, elegance and a medium body with very fine tannins. It's very harmonious and with an ethereal quality to it. It has a combination of dry flowers, crushed rocks, herbs and always a marine whiff that makes it quite distinct. It's a very regular vineyard, but this is now a certified single-vineyard wine from the new Islas Canarias - Tenerife appellation. 1,800 bottles were filled in July 2023.Inc. VAT£559.24 -
Wine Advocate (96)
The 2015 Clos Santuy is produced with the grapes from an ungrafted, head-pruned 1.12-hectare vineyard in the village of Piquera de San Esteban in the province of Soria, just outside the limits of Ribera del Duero, so it’s sold as Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León. The vineyard is planted at some 968 meters in altitude on shallow sandstone soils and is enclosed by a dry stonewall. Bougnaud has been working and vinifying this plot separately since 2010 and noticed its personality and aging potential, but this 2015 is the first vintage to be released. This is a textbook elegant and fresh Ribera from the cooler part; it’s ripe and powerful but really in balance and includes some 10% of white Albillo grapes that surely add to the silky texture and the fresh sensation on the palate. What a portfolio Galia showed in 2015, and this jewel of the crown filled some 1,073 bottles in September 2017. Bravo!Inc. VAT£251.54 -
Wine Advocate (96)
The nose of the 2016 Clos Santuy was a little more discrete and reticent than the 2016 Villages. This comes from a 1.2-hectare plot of ungrafted vines in the village of Piquera de San Esteban that somehow was left out of the Ribera del Duero appellation. There is a sense of harmony and depth unlike that of the Villages, which felt more open and immediate. The palate is pure rock, austere and chalky, with a sense of minerality that was striking. It's approximately 80% Tempranillo and 20% Albillo fermented together with 20% full clusters and indigenous yeasts and matured in one 225-liter barrel and one 600-liter demi-muid for 22 months. 1,095 bottles were filled in September 2018.Inc. VAT£249.62 -
Wine Advocate (95)
The nose of the 2016 Villages was stunning. It's a blend of Tempranillo with 9% Garnacha and 4% white Albillo from vineyards in Piquera de San Esteban, Fuentelcésped, Hontangas, Cuevas de Provanco, Quintanilla de Onésimo and Trigueros del Valle. It fermented by soil types with indigenous yeasts and some 20% full clusters (the Garnacha was 100% whole clusters) and matured in a mixture of 225-liter barriques, 600-liter demi-muids and 1,200-liter foudres for 21 months. The élevage was very respectful with the wine, which comes through as floral and terribly aromatic, ripe without excess and with a medium to full-bodied palate, pungent flavors and great length and persistence. The tannins are round and velvety, and there is a sense of integration and balance that I liked very much. 16,140 bottles and 230 magnums were filled in July 2018.Inc. VAT£368.44 -
Wine Advocate (94)
The 2019 Hacienda Monasterio is floral, aromatic and precise, showing good but contained ripeness, with 15% alcohol. It's a similar blend as in previous years—80% Tinto Fino, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot and 2% Malbec. This is the first vintage they used their new 10,000-liter oak vat, so there are more lots fermented separately and then blended to create this cuvée that shows very good balance, juiciness, concentration, structure and power but with freshness and balance. Their idea is to gradually replace the Merlot with Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon, but that's going to be a slow process. They have 12 different soils classified on the property, and in 2019 they selected different soils for each wine, something that was not done in 2017; there will be more changes in this direction in the future. 182,666 bottles produced. It was bottled in June 2021.Inc. VAT£393.89 -
Tim Atkin MW (97)
This superb Reserva from the textbook, cooler climate 2016 vintage is one of the best young wines I have ever tasted from Carlos de la Fuente and Peter Sisseck. Marrying Tinto Fino with 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in 40% new wood, this comes from a parcel with a very high limestone content, which adds freshness on these warm slopes. Scented, graceful and refined, it has cassis and blackberry fruit, graceful tannins, subtle wood and a long, tapering finish. Exceptional winemaking. 2023-32Inc. VAT£470.69 -
Wine Advocate (95)
Somehow I didn't taste the 2017 Hacienda Monasterio, but I did taste the 2017 Reserva, which is quite impressive for such a challenging year in Ribera del Duero. They suffered less from the frost on the property, which is quite warm and usually frost-free. The wine has a seductive nose that combines raspberries and cranberries with herbs and flowers. It's ripe at 15% alcohol, but it does not show heat or alcohol. This is 80% to 82% Tinto Fino and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon that matured in barrel for some 20 months. It's medium to full-bodied, juicy, rich and velvety, with fine, chalky tannins. The wine really transcends the challenges of the vintage and delivers more than I expected. 35,000 bottles produced.Inc. VAT£386.69 -
James Suckling (96)
Lovely dried red fruit, such as plums with just a hint of prunes. Cedar, walnut and leather undertones. Full-bodied with lots of fruit, considering its age, as well as hints of smoke, tobacco, bark and black tea. Some balsamic at the finish. Traditionally styled with lovely results. Drink or hold.Inc. VAT£439.24 -
Tim Atkin MW (94)
La Rioja Alta is one of the most traditional wineries in Haro’s Barrio de la Estación, famous for producing wines that are good to drink on release, but also age beautifully in bottle. This new Gran Reserva, made from Tempranillo with 6% Graciano for added backbone, is very much a reflection of the cooler, more “Atlantic” 2014 vintage. La Rioja Alta didn’t make its top two Gran Reservas – 904 and 890 – in 2014, so all of its best grapes were used for Viña Arana. Fine and elegant, with vibrant acidity, notes of coconut and cinnamon from the American oak and a core of savoury, refreshing tobacco leaf and red berry flavours framed by fine, caressing tannins. Old-fashioned Rioja at its glorious best.Inc. VAT£379.24 -
Vinous (94)
Deep magenta. An intensely perfumed bouquet evokes ripe black raspberry, cherry cola, potpourri, tobacco and exotic spices, plus a smoky mineral flourish. Sweet and broad in the mouth, offering lush red and blue fruit, spicecake, mocha and coconut flavors that firm up on the back half. Finishes extremely long and spicy, with resonating florality, gently chewy tannins and lingering oak spice notes.Inc. VAT£422.47 -
Wine Advocate (96)
Following the appreciation of the 2007 vintage from María José López de Heredia, the red 2007 Viña Tondonia Reserva is showing great, revealing unusual finesse and elegance. The nose is a little reticent but nuanced and complex, a little shy rather than explosive. The palate is medium-bodied, and the tannins are very refined. This has to be one of the finest vintages of Viña Tondonia Reserva of recent years. 200,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in November 2015.Inc. VAT£313.24
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Wine Advocate (96)
The village wine 2018 Corullón has, for the first time, the new category Vino de Villa (village wine!). It comes from around 90 plots of their own vineyards. In the cooler and more Atlantic 2018, they had more rain than the previous two vintages and a lower average temperature, and they think it was excellent for their wines ("a modern version of 2001," Ricardo Pérez Palacios told me). There are around 8% white grapes here, and the wine fermented in oak vats with punching down, and the élevage was in a combination of barriques, bocoyes and foudres, oak containers of different sizes, and was short of 11 months. This is the modern version of 2001 and 2012, and in 2018, it has the part of Moncerbal (almost 40%) that was not in the 2017 (because of hail, the Moncerbal bottling was not produced in 2017), so it goes back to the classical style. There is terrific balance here, great purity, with the essence of slate; here, we move from the fruit of the Pétalos to the herbs. But there is complexity and nuance, violets, rockrose, sap, resin, fern, cinnamon and citrus, all very subtle and harmonious. The flavors have similar purity, and if these wines never have high acidity, there is great freshness, soft citrus, all very subtle and velvety. This is sooo easy to drink it could be dangerous... They produced 23,034 bottles and other formats, half-bottles, magnums, double magnums and jeroboams. It was bottled in January 2020.In Bond£165.00 -
Wine Advocate (97)
The white from Dominio del Águila is one of the first whites from the Ribera del Duero appellation, which just approved the category in September 2019. It's also one of the finest whites from the region (and from Spain), used by the appellation to present the new category of wines as an example of the aging potential of the style, which at this address was produced in 2012, 2014 and 2015 and until now sold as generic Vino de España. The fourth vintage bottled is this 2016 Blanco, which is insultingly young and backward, with incredible tension, 13% alcohol and a pH of 3.08, which is only achieved in cool vintages, and crafted as the best white Burgundies, as it's produced with the idea of a true vin de garde. This 2016 took almost two years to complete fermentation, because it ferments in oak barrels in a very cold cellar. This is the finest vintage, with citrus notes, hints of smoke and incredible tension and freshness in the palate. This has the tenderness of a baby and should have a slower development than any of the previous vintages. It was hand bottled—unfined and unfiltered after 32 months in barrel—into 4,855 bottles and 80 magnums in June 2019. These are wines that deserve being revisited a few years after their bottling...In Bond£1,100.00 -
Wine Advocate (98)
The scarcest and rarest of the reds is the single-vineyard 2015 Canta la Perdiz, produced with the field-blend grapes of one of the oldest vineyards in the village of La Aguilera, a plot at 890 meters in altitude that has sandy and limestone-rich soils that give the wine a specific texture reminiscent of chalk. It's planted with a field blend dominated by Tempranillo but with small percentages of many other grapes, and the aim is to be able to ferment them all together. The ripeness of 2015 allowed for all the different varieties to achieve good ripeness, and they were all included in the wine, which fermented with full clusters and indigenous yeasts. It was foot trodden, and the malolactic and slow and long aging was in French oak barrels and lasted 31 months. It's a wine of perfume and finesse, gentle and tender, attractive and showy, developing nice complexity in the glass, with a more Mediterranean profile, some fennel and aromatic herbs. It has a velvety texture with very fine tannins. It also has very good freshness and balance, and it finishes long and dry. 1,220 bottles and 24 magnums were filled in May 2018.In Bond£511.00 -
Wine Advocate (98)
The scarcest and rarest of the reds is the single-vineyard 2015 Canta la Perdiz, produced with the field-blend grapes of one of the oldest vineyards in the village of La Aguilera, a plot at 890 meters in altitude that has sandy and limestone-rich soils that give the wine a specific texture reminiscent of chalk. It's planted with a field blend dominated by Tempranillo but with small percentages of many other grapes, and the aim is to be able to ferment them all together. The ripeness of 2015 allowed for all the different varieties to achieve good ripeness, and they were all included in the wine, which fermented with full clusters and indigenous yeasts. It was foot trodden, and the malolactic and slow and long aging was in French oak barrels and lasted 31 months. It's a wine of perfume and finesse, gentle and tender, attractive and showy, developing nice complexity in the glass, with a more Mediterranean profile, some fennel and aromatic herbs. It has a velvety texture with very fine tannins. It also has very good freshness and balance, and it finishes long and dry. 1,220 bottles and 24 magnums were filled in May 2018.In Bond£1,335.00 -
Wine Advocate (100)
I was really looking forward to the single-vineyard red 2016 Canta la Perdiz, their rarest and finest bottling. It comes from a one of the oldest plots in the village of La Aguilera found at 890 meters in altitude on sand and limestone soils that give it a special personality and a chalky texture. The full clusters fermented with indigenous yeasts in concrete vats, and the wine went through seven months of a slow malolactic fermentation in oak barrels, where it completed an élevage of 31 months. The wine delivers what I was expecting, incredible finesse and elegance while filling your mouth. It is nuanced, perfumed and with a crystalline personality, with light and energy. It has very fine, chalky tannins that give it a velvety texture. It has incredible length. It's a world-class red that should develop for a very long time in bottle but also drink well throughout its life, even as young as now. This is one of the finest wines they have produced at this domaine, among the greatest in Ribera del Duero, fine, crystalline and full of Ribera character, serious but with a hedonist side. 1,789 bottles and 50 magnums were filled in May 2019.In Bond£1,615.00 -
Wine Advocate (97)
I also tasted the 2017 Canta la Perdiz from the low-yielding and warm year marked by spring frost. The Tempranillo field blend clusters fermented in concrete vats with natural yeasts after being foot trodden. The wine went through malolactic and 39 months of aging in oak barrels, mostly French, for 39 months. It has the perfume and approachability of the 2017s, but there's a lot more finesse here, the quality of the tannins is superb, and there's great balance and freshness. Another 2017 that transcends the vintage. The label is different each vintage, and in this different year, it does have a surprising, somewhat Ponsot-like label...1,103 bottles and 10 magnums were filled in March 2021.In Bond£1,595.00 -
Wine Advocate (99)
Their Gran Reserva is released a good six or seven years after the harvest, and they consider the 2013 Peñas Aladas Gran Reserva still too young. It comes from small plots of some of the oldest vineyards in the village of La Aguilera, in the zone known as Peñas Aladas in a cooler place at 870 to 890 meters in altitude. The topsoils are sandy, and then there is clay and a limestone-and-marl mother rock that they consider perfect. The dominant grape is Tempranillo, but in these old plots, there is always a mix of varieties—Albillo, Bruñal, Garnacha, Bobal, Cariñena—and the aim is to ferment them all together (ripeness permitting). This fermented with full clusters that were foot trodden, and malolactic was in barrel and extremely slow (19 months). It matured in barrel for five years. It is an incredibly backward wine, young and undeveloped, with tons of gunpowder, earthy and mineral, diesel-like, complex and with a magnetic attraction that makes you go back over and over again. It has pungent and pristine flavors, with amazing precision and symmetry, like laser cut, long, with very fine tannins and a supple, almost salty finish. This wine should age forever in bottle. This wine is just magic. 1,671 bottles and 69 magnums were filled in September 2018. The initial 2010 is now glorious, but I agree, still young...In Bond£481.00 -
Wine Advocate (99)
Their Gran Reserva is released a good six or seven years after the harvest, and they consider the 2013 Peñas Aladas Gran Reserva still too young. It comes from small plots of some of the oldest vineyards in the village of La Aguilera, in the zone known as Peñas Aladas in a cooler place at 870 to 890 meters in altitude. The topsoils are sandy, and then there is clay and a limestone-and-marl mother rock that they consider perfect. The dominant grape is Tempranillo, but in these old plots, there is always a mix of varieties—Albillo, Bruñal, Garnacha, Bobal, Cariñena—and the aim is to ferment them all together (ripeness permitting). This fermented with full clusters that were foot trodden, and malolactic was in barrel and extremely slow (19 months). It matured in barrel for five years. It is an incredibly backward wine, young and undeveloped, with tons of gunpowder, earthy and mineral, diesel-like, complex and with a magnetic attraction that makes you go back over and over again. It has pungent and pristine flavors, with amazing precision and symmetry, like laser cut, long, with very fine tannins and a supple, almost salty finish. This wine should age forever in bottle. This wine is just magic. 1,671 bottles and 69 magnums were filled in September 2018. The initial 2010 is now glorious, but I agree, still young...In Bond£984.00 -
Wine Advocate (99)
Their Gran Reserva is released a good six or seven years after the harvest, and they consider the 2013 Peñas Aladas Gran Reserva still too young. It comes from small plots of some of the oldest vineyards in the village of La Aguilera, in the zone known as Peñas Aladas in a cooler place at 870 to 890 meters in altitude. The topsoils are sandy, and then there is clay and a limestone-and-marl mother rock that they consider perfect. The dominant grape is Tempranillo, but in these old plots, there is always a mix of varieties—Albillo, Bruñal, Garnacha, Bobal, Cariñena—and the aim is to ferment them all together (ripeness permitting). This fermented with full clusters that were foot trodden, and malolactic was in barrel and extremely slow (19 months). It matured in barrel for five years. It is an incredibly backward wine, young and undeveloped, with tons of gunpowder, earthy and mineral, diesel-like, complex and with a magnetic attraction that makes you go back over and over again. It has pungent and pristine flavors, with amazing precision and symmetry, like laser cut, long, with very fine tannins and a supple, almost salty finish. This wine should age forever in bottle. This wine is just magic. 1,671 bottles and 69 magnums were filled in September 2018. The initial 2010 is now glorious, but I agree, still young...In Bond£920.00 -
Wine Advocate (96)
The Gran Reserva from 2014 had also been bottled for over one year when I tasted the wines, so I included the 2014 Peñas Aladas Gran Reserva in this report, although the wine might take some time to reach the market. This is a rare wine, matured in oak barrels for 45 months and produced in limited quantities in a painfully slow process to create a wine with very high aging potential that, even when released some five or six years after the harvest, feels too young and a little raw. It feels a lot gentler and approachable than the 2013 I tasted next to it; it's more aromatic and expressive, complex and at the same time easy to understand. The palate is also approachable and tender, with very fine-grained tannins, when in reality, it's very powerful and tannic, but the balance is terrific. It should develop beautifully in bottle, and the Ribera character, which is there, should be even more evident with a little more time. 3,051 bottles and 43 magnums were filled unfined and unfiltered by hand in June 2018.In Bond£850.00 -
Wine Advocate (98)
Their Gran Reserva style red 2015 Peñas Aladas Gran Reserva had a very long aging in barrel, a total of 54 months, including six months of malolactic fermentation. This comes from a myriad of small plots of some of the oldest vines in the village of La Aguilera in the same zone that names the wine, at 870 to 890 meters in altitude. The valley receives very cold winds from the Duero River, and the vineyards are surrounded by junipers, pines and oak trees, which makes it up to three degrees Celsius lower than the rest of the village, one of the coldest places in the whole of Ribera del Duero. The soils have a layer of sand that is gradually mixed with clay until around one meter deep, and then there's a layer of marl and limestone, a textbook soil for the vine. 2015 was a powerful vintage, and there was some frost that also delivered a little more concentration. The wine has an old Ribera del Duero style, with some rusticity and lots of power, energy and concentration but with great balance. It has plenty of fine tannins and lots of chalkiness. This should be very long lived. 2,223 bottles and 41 magnums were hand bottled unfiltered and unfined in May 2020.In Bond£900.00 -
Jeb Dunnuck (95)
The 2015 Reserva checks in a Tempranillo-dominated red with 15% comprising a field blend of Garnacha, Bobal, and Albillo, all aged 35 months in barrel. Gorgeous blueberries, smoked blackberries, roasted herbs, chocolate, lead pencil, and graphite notes dominate the bouquet, and it's medium to full-bodied, with a concentrated, powerful texture, lots of tannins, and a great finish. It certainly shows the warmer style of the vintage in its texture and tannins, yet it stays balanced and offers notable freshness as well as a great finish. It has another decade of prime drinking.In Bond£520.00 -
Wine Advocate (97)
Quite different from the 2015 was the 2016 Reserva, a red from a cooler year with good yields, so they were able to increase production of this wine over twofold and increase the quality! It took some seven months to complete fermentation, and the élevage in barrel lasted some 29 months. It has an incredible nose, violets and something musky, intriguing, complex and nuanced, mysterious and difficult to define, with some notes reminiscent of soy sauce. The palate is seamless and with terrific balance, a silky texture and very fine but chalky tannins. This is an amazing Ribera del Duero. 18,834 bottles and 519 magnums produced. It was bottled in April 2019.In Bond£100.00 -
Wine Advocate (97)
Quite different from the 2015 was the 2016 Reserva, a red from a cooler year with good yields, so they were able to increase production of this wine over twofold and increase the quality! It took some seven months to complete fermentation, and the élevage in barrel lasted some 29 months. It has an incredible nose, violets and something musky, intriguing, complex and nuanced, mysterious and difficult to define, with some notes reminiscent of soy sauce. The palate is seamless and with terrific balance, a silky texture and very fine but chalky tannins. This is an amazing Ribera del Duero. 18,834 bottles and 519 magnums produced. It was bottled in April 2019.In Bond£278.00 -
Tim Atkin MW (96)
Produced in what Jorge Monzón calls the "tragic", frost-hit 2017 vintage, when yields were down 85%, this shows that, in the right hands, what survived was often very good indeed. Marrying Tinto Fino with 5% Monastrell and 2% Albillo Mayor, all of it aged in old wood, this is herbal, chalky and intense, with stem ginger and wild strawberry flavours, fine tannins and impressive length.In Bond£300.00 -
Decanter (97)
This dark, relatively tight-knit Rioja proves that the Gran Reserva category doesn't just indicate the supremely well-aged, relaxed and reposeful style of Rioja, but can also serve to draw drinkers' attention to outstanding wines of density and tenacity which still have a way to run along their potential ageing trajectories. Look out for dark, urgent fruits here sweetened and back-lit by cunningly angled oak, with intense, deep, fresh and searching flavours in which the 10% of Graciano seems to be working overtime. A Rioja of innate drama.In Bond£205.00 -
Jancis Robinson (18)
95% Syrah, 5% Viognier, vineyards at 950 m above sea level. Aged for 12 months in a mixture of 650- and 500-litre used French oak. Spectacular and intense dark fruit on the nose! Blackcurrant, blackberries, cassis, violets, smoke and minerality. On the palate, it is rich and deep but not massive. It has mouth-watering acidity, ripe tannins, and elegant oak integration. I find this vintage more balanced than previous ones. The wine has precise fruit expression. 2018 has been the greatest year for this wine. (FC)In Bond£114.00 -
Wine Advocate (95)
The 2022 Albahra is from a year of good quality and good quantity, when the blend was slightly different, 62% Garnacha Tintorera, 30% Moravia Agria, 5% Garnacha and 3% Pardillo, because they rented a vineyard where they also have white (Pardillo) grapes (they might produce a white in 2023). 2022 in the Mediterranean zone was a dry year but it was not as warm as in other zones of Spain, and they think it was the best year so far for the Moravia Agria. So, the wines have more freshness and more acidity. Another big change is that 2022 was the first year that was vinified in their new winery in the zone. So, it's a much fresher wine than the 2021, which was a warmer year. 65,000 bottles and 900 magnums produced. It was bottled in June 2023.In Bond£394.00 -
Wine Advocate (98)
The heat from late August didn't affect much the grapes that were used for the 2022 Palo Blanco, as they are picked much later than the grapes from other zones of Tenerife. So, the 2022 vintage in Los Realejos is a lot fresher than in Taganana or La Orotava. In fact, I liked the palate of this 2022 better than that of the 2021; it's vibrant, lovely and fresh. The nose is still a little reductive, and the notes of flowers and herbs take time to emerge. 13,000 bottles and 167 magnums produced. It was bottled in July 2023.In Bond£300.00 -
Wine Advocate (98)
There's a little more ripeness in the 2022 Táganan Parcela Margalagua, a jump in complexity and depth from the regular Táganan. It has fruit, elegance and a medium body with very fine tannins. It's very harmonious and with an ethereal quality to it. It has a combination of dry flowers, crushed rocks, herbs and always a marine whiff that makes it quite distinct. It's a very regular vineyard, but this is now a certified single-vineyard wine from the new Islas Canarias - Tenerife appellation. 1,800 bottles were filled in July 2023.In Bond£450.00 -
Wine Advocate (96)
The 2015 Clos Santuy is produced with the grapes from an ungrafted, head-pruned 1.12-hectare vineyard in the village of Piquera de San Esteban in the province of Soria, just outside the limits of Ribera del Duero, so it’s sold as Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León. The vineyard is planted at some 968 meters in altitude on shallow sandstone soils and is enclosed by a dry stonewall. Bougnaud has been working and vinifying this plot separately since 2010 and noticed its personality and aging potential, but this 2015 is the first vintage to be released. This is a textbook elegant and fresh Ribera from the cooler part; it’s ripe and powerful but really in balance and includes some 10% of white Albillo grapes that surely add to the silky texture and the fresh sensation on the palate. What a portfolio Galia showed in 2015, and this jewel of the crown filled some 1,073 bottles in September 2017. Bravo!In Bond£200.00 -
Wine Advocate (96)
The nose of the 2016 Clos Santuy was a little more discrete and reticent than the 2016 Villages. This comes from a 1.2-hectare plot of ungrafted vines in the village of Piquera de San Esteban that somehow was left out of the Ribera del Duero appellation. There is a sense of harmony and depth unlike that of the Villages, which felt more open and immediate. The palate is pure rock, austere and chalky, with a sense of minerality that was striking. It's approximately 80% Tempranillo and 20% Albillo fermented together with 20% full clusters and indigenous yeasts and matured in one 225-liter barrel and one 600-liter demi-muid for 22 months. 1,095 bottles were filled in September 2018.In Bond£200.00 -
Wine Advocate (95)
The nose of the 2016 Villages was stunning. It's a blend of Tempranillo with 9% Garnacha and 4% white Albillo from vineyards in Piquera de San Esteban, Fuentelcésped, Hontangas, Cuevas de Provanco, Quintanilla de Onésimo and Trigueros del Valle. It fermented by soil types with indigenous yeasts and some 20% full clusters (the Garnacha was 100% whole clusters) and matured in a mixture of 225-liter barriques, 600-liter demi-muids and 1,200-liter foudres for 21 months. The élevage was very respectful with the wine, which comes through as floral and terribly aromatic, ripe without excess and with a medium to full-bodied palate, pungent flavors and great length and persistence. The tannins are round and velvety, and there is a sense of integration and balance that I liked very much. 16,140 bottles and 230 magnums were filled in July 2018.In Bond£291.00 -
Wine Advocate (94)
The 2019 Hacienda Monasterio is floral, aromatic and precise, showing good but contained ripeness, with 15% alcohol. It's a similar blend as in previous years—80% Tinto Fino, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot and 2% Malbec. This is the first vintage they used their new 10,000-liter oak vat, so there are more lots fermented separately and then blended to create this cuvée that shows very good balance, juiciness, concentration, structure and power but with freshness and balance. Their idea is to gradually replace the Merlot with Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon, but that's going to be a slow process. They have 12 different soils classified on the property, and in 2019 they selected different soils for each wine, something that was not done in 2017; there will be more changes in this direction in the future. 182,666 bottles produced. It was bottled in June 2021.In Bond£309.00 -
Tim Atkin MW (97)
This superb Reserva from the textbook, cooler climate 2016 vintage is one of the best young wines I have ever tasted from Carlos de la Fuente and Peter Sisseck. Marrying Tinto Fino with 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in 40% new wood, this comes from a parcel with a very high limestone content, which adds freshness on these warm slopes. Scented, graceful and refined, it has cassis and blackberry fruit, graceful tannins, subtle wood and a long, tapering finish. Exceptional winemaking. 2023-32In Bond£373.00 -
Wine Advocate (95)
Somehow I didn't taste the 2017 Hacienda Monasterio, but I did taste the 2017 Reserva, which is quite impressive for such a challenging year in Ribera del Duero. They suffered less from the frost on the property, which is quite warm and usually frost-free. The wine has a seductive nose that combines raspberries and cranberries with herbs and flowers. It's ripe at 15% alcohol, but it does not show heat or alcohol. This is 80% to 82% Tinto Fino and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon that matured in barrel for some 20 months. It's medium to full-bodied, juicy, rich and velvety, with fine, chalky tannins. The wine really transcends the challenges of the vintage and delivers more than I expected. 35,000 bottles produced.In Bond£303.00 -
James Suckling (96)
Lovely dried red fruit, such as plums with just a hint of prunes. Cedar, walnut and leather undertones. Full-bodied with lots of fruit, considering its age, as well as hints of smoke, tobacco, bark and black tea. Some balsamic at the finish. Traditionally styled with lovely results. Drink or hold.In Bond£350.00 -
Tim Atkin MW (94)
La Rioja Alta is one of the most traditional wineries in Haro’s Barrio de la Estación, famous for producing wines that are good to drink on release, but also age beautifully in bottle. This new Gran Reserva, made from Tempranillo with 6% Graciano for added backbone, is very much a reflection of the cooler, more “Atlantic” 2014 vintage. La Rioja Alta didn’t make its top two Gran Reservas – 904 and 890 – in 2014, so all of its best grapes were used for Viña Arana. Fine and elegant, with vibrant acidity, notes of coconut and cinnamon from the American oak and a core of savoury, refreshing tobacco leaf and red berry flavours framed by fine, caressing tannins. Old-fashioned Rioja at its glorious best.In Bond£300.00 -
Vinous (94)
Deep magenta. An intensely perfumed bouquet evokes ripe black raspberry, cherry cola, potpourri, tobacco and exotic spices, plus a smoky mineral flourish. Sweet and broad in the mouth, offering lush red and blue fruit, spicecake, mocha and coconut flavors that firm up on the back half. Finishes extremely long and spicy, with resonating florality, gently chewy tannins and lingering oak spice notes.In Bond£320.00 -
Wine Advocate (96)
Following the appreciation of the 2007 vintage from María José López de Heredia, the red 2007 Viña Tondonia Reserva is showing great, revealing unusual finesse and elegance. The nose is a little reticent but nuanced and complex, a little shy rather than explosive. The palate is medium-bodied, and the tannins are very refined. This has to be one of the finest vintages of Viña Tondonia Reserva of recent years. 200,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in November 2015.In Bond£245.00
