Wine Advocate (94)

The 2018 Aalto reflects the cooler conditions of the year, with a more austere profile, subtle aromas and a harmonious palate. This is a classic example of modern, ripe and well-oaked Tempranillo from Ribera del Duero, which this year feels creamy, juicy and balanced. This follows the path of 2017 with integrated oak (they used only around 20% new oak) and a lively palate in a more drinkable and approachable style. They added some new vineyards from the zone of Boada where the soils are red and the wines bring freshness and lots of fruit. The wine had a shorter maceration with the skins and a softer vinification. This is finer and more balanced, with finesse but still very much recognizable as Aalto. 300,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in July 2020. They have a new white first produced in 2019 and a non-vintage red blend to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the winery. They are also going to release small lots of library releases. The 2018s reflect the cooler year and show more integrated oak, following the path of the 2017.

Wine Advocate (94)

The 2018 Aalto reflects the cooler conditions of the year, with a more austere profile, subtle aromas and a harmonious palate. This is a classic example of modern, ripe and well-oaked Tempranillo from Ribera del Duero, which this year feels creamy, juicy and balanced. This follows the path of 2017 with integrated oak (they used only around 20% new oak) and a lively palate in a more drinkable and approachable style. They added some new vineyards from the zone of Boada where the soils are red and the wines bring freshness and lots of fruit. The wine had a shorter maceration with the skins and a softer vinification. This is finer and more balanced, with finesse but still very much recognizable as Aalto. 300,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in July 2020. They have a new white first produced in 2019 and a non-vintage red blend to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the winery. They are also going to release small lots of library releases. The 2018s reflect the cooler year and show more integrated oak, following the path of the 2017.

Vinous (94)

Dark ruby. Strongly perfumed scents of exotic cherry-cola, blackberry, vanilla and Asian spices. Weighty but focused dark fruit flavors offer striking clarity and palate-staining concentration, with soft tannins building on the close. The cola quality lingers on the long, sweet finish. This wonderfully balances richness and vivacity.

Wine Advocate (95)

The 2018 PS follows the style of previous bottlings of this wine, selecting plots from La Horra, La Aguilera, Baños and Moradillo, looking for a similar profile of soils and the style of the wine. This is an exuberant, ripe and generously oaked Tempranillo that was matured in new oak barrels for 19 months. It's from a generous crop that was harvested between the 24th of September and the 19th of October, a slow and late harvest of fully ripe grapes that developed plenty of aromas and flavors. It was also a cooler year. This is a long-distance runner. Today, the 2018 Aalto is more approachable and shows better balance. 40,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in July 2020. They have a new white first produced in 2019 and a non-vintage red blend to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the winery. They are also going to release small lots of library releases. The 2018s reflect the cooler year and show more integrated oak, following the path of the 2017.

Immerse yourself in the distinguished taste of Aalto Ribera del Duero PS 2019. Born from the fertile soils of Spain's premium wine region, Ribera del Duero, this wine encapsulates the centuries-old grape cultivating traditions and modern winemaking techniques of reputed producer Mariano Garcia. The blend utilises Tempranillo grapes harvested from vines aged over 60 years and is aged 22 months in new French oak barrels to create its robust profile.

On the palate, Aalto Ribera del Duero PS 2019 impresses with a rich tapestry of flavours ranging from black fruits to nuances of cocoa and spices. Its structured tannins and excellent acidity culminate in a long and thrilling finish, making it a splendid complement to an array of dishes.

Commended by esteemed wine critics, this vibrant yet complex wine delivers a seamless fusion of power and elegance. Experience the ultimate indulgence with Aalto Ribera del Duero PS 2019, a testament to the winemaking prowess of Ribera del Duero.

Vinous (90)

From vines planted in 2010, the 2017 Hemelrand Vine Garden was matured in old neutral barrels and cement egg. It has a clean, pure bouquet of lemon curd, albumen and light yellow flowers. The palate is well balanced, with a taut line of acidity, and quite saline in the mouth. The sharp, slightly flinty finish oddly reminds me of a mature Chablis. Very fine.

Vinous (93)

The 2018 Hemelrand Vine Garden is whole-cluster-pressed and matured in oak and foudres. It has a very seductive bouquet of honeysuckle, passion fruit and hints of beeswax that gain intensity with aeration. The palate is well balanced with a saline opening, plus a fine bead of acidity. There is a light saline lick toward the finish that becomes nuttier with aeration, although this does not quite deliver the complexity of Alheit’s best Chenin Blancs. Still, it is a lovely white blend that should age with style.

Decanter (97)

The bouquet is full of fragrant black fruits, cinnamon, cumin and Frankincense, the palate beautifully fleshy and textured, carrying cigar box, vanilla, blueberry and silky tannins through to a lingering, richly-fruited, finish. Such refined elegance! Outstanding.

Tim Atkin MW (95)

You know class when you taste it, and this is certainly that. Deservedly established as one of South Africa's most consistently outstanding Chardonnays, this has the structure and concentration to age, with no malolactic at all, 22% new wood and complex, nuanced, stony flavours of lemon zest, oatmeal and stone fruit – Drinking to 2028

Wine Advocate (95)

The perfumed and elegant 2019 Interpretación is powerful and ripe at 15% alcohol, reflecting the warm and dry vintage. It fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured for 15 months in barrels, half of them 500-liter ones and 30% of them new. It's a serious and structured red with a classical profile and terrific balance, very fine tannins and a silky mouthfeel through very fine chalky tannins. It's tasty, balanced and long, with stuffing and balance between the components to develop nicely in bottle. This shows the warm year and the hand of a very god winemaker; it is creamy and has good integrated of the oak. 34,563 bottles, 495 magnums and some larger formats produced. It was bottled in June 2021.

IWSC (97)

Very classy wine with nicely judged oak that adds vanilla spice to the tropical fruit and toffee apple flavours. Perfectly poised with crisp acidity and an elegant, long finish.

The Calvo Casajus Ribera Del Duero NIC 2009 is the ultimate testament to the wine-making prowess of Burgos, Spain's Calvo Casajus winery. Considered one of the jewels of Ribera del Duero, it is a product of exceptional craftsmanship and passion. Produced from 100-year-old organically grown Tempranillo grapes, it boasts unparalleled finesse and flavour intensity. The varietal was vinified classically before aging for 26 months in French oak barrels, resulting in a superb balance between fruit and wood.

This grand vintage expresses luscious hints of ripe black fruit, liquorice and cocoa, accentuated by an undercurrent of earthy spices. Its soft tannins and new oak's slight sweetness create a gratifyingly rounded palate. Jose Maria Calvo, the man behind the label, has perfected the fine art of minimal intervention, showcasing the natural excellency of Ribera's unique terroir. Calvo Casajus Ribera Del Duero NIC 2009 truly captures the heart and soul of Spanish viticulture.

Wine Advocate (96+)

I was very pleasantly surprised by the elegance and balance of the 2015 Valtuille Cepas Centenarias, centenary Mencía from two plots in the village of Valtuille. This is always one of the finest wines in the portfolio, but this 2015 was especially harmonious, combining aromas of violets and wild herbs with an earthy touch and a medium-bodied palate with very refined tannins that made it beautifully textured. There is an extra degree of complexity here and it has the depth of the very old vines. This has to be one of the finest vintages for this bottling. There are 3,500 bottles of it.

Wine Advocate (98)

The 2019 Valtuille Cepas Centenarias comes from a single plot of ancient vines that could qualify as Vino de Paraje and in the future as Vino de Viña, but they are never going to do it because it's their traditional name and label and one of the most consistent wines from the winery. It is made with field blend with lots of different grapes on clay and sand soils. It fermented with full clusters and indigenous yeasts with a long 60-day maceration and matured in 225- and 500-liter oak barrels (but, in the future, they might move to oval oak foudres) for one year. It has the violets and the perfume from the 2018 vintage but with more dimension, more layers and depth. A stellar performance in 2019 (again!). 3,500 bottles produced, what the plot delivered. It was bottled in June 2021.

Wine Advocate (96)

The 2019 Valtuille El Rapolao, now a Vino de Paraje, fermented with 100% full clusters with a long maceration and matured in well-seasoned, neutral 500-liter oak barrels (which might be eight years old now), the modus operandi for all of the single-vineyard reds. It's perfumed and heady, as it comes from a plot that also has some fruit trees, in a v-shape, planted along with some 8% Malvasía grapes that have been added since 2018 and have given it finesse. It's more exuberant on the nose, something that seems to define this wine that is quite unique and different from its siblings. It's medium-bodied with around 13% alcohol; winemaker César Márquez feels that when these wines are riper than 13.5% they are too rustic. 1,200 bottles produced. It was bottled in December 2020.

Wine Advocate (94)

The first vintage to have the new official category on the label is the 2019 Valtuille Vino de Villa, and it's a barrel selection of barrels from the centenary vines and Villegas, El Val and some La Rata, three zones they like. This is the new focus of the winery; it's a very serious red, with volume and depth. It fermented in oak vats with 40% full clusters with the field blend and matured in 225- and 500-liter oak barrels. It has the grainy mouthfeel from the stems. It has more structure and ripeness but with great balance and moderate alcohol, really representing the village and the year. 12,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in June 2021.

Wine Advocate (94+)

The 2018 El Rapolao was produced with the grapes from the adjacent plot to the one from Castro Ventosa. It has maybe 5% white grapes and a faint reductive character—a flinty or gun powder note, turning into sesame seeds á la Coche-Dury with time—that the vineyard can have, with a lot less alcohol (13%) and is lighter and more ethereal and elegant. This is floral, clean and fresh, fulfilling the fresher and more elegant style of the 2018s. It follows the style of 2016, perhaps with a touch more depth and complexity, and it is more elegant, with more refined tannins and a chalky sensation. 984 bottles were filled in December 2019.

Wine Advocate (95)

The 2018 Sufreiral is one of the very few reds from limestone soils from Bierzo. This year, it comes from a higher-altitude plot (he now works with five separate plots in the paraje, but the rest go to the Parajes bottling) and in a vineyard with some white grapes. It fermented with full clusters and a longer maceration, resulting in a wine with less color and more tension. If Bierzo is somewhere between the Northern Rhône and Burgundy, this one gravitates more toward Burgundy. It's floral and textured, with a fine thread, very fine tannins and the sapidity of the limestone, very tasty. It's a more ethereal version of 2017. It matured in a well-seasoned, neutral 600-liter oak vat for one year. Only 721 bottles were filled in December 2019.

Experience the sheer elegance of Charla Haasbroek Cabernet Sauvignon 2017, artfully crafted under the skilful hands of winemaker Charla Haasbroek. This artisanal wine is produced in the renowned Stellenbosch region of South Africa, famous for its optimal grape-growing conditions. Charla's meticulous winemaking approach, aligning traditional methods with innovative techniques, results in Cabernet Sauvignon of distinctive character.

The wine displays rich dark fruit aromatics, underscored by nuanced notes of leather and spice. On the palate, it reveals a robust structure with velvety tannins and a harmonious balance achieved through 18 months of French oak barrel maturation. The Charla Haasbroek Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 could be described as a modern classic: a wine that pays homage to its varietal heritage with a discernible expression of its unique terroir.

Ly celebrated for her dedication to crafting authentic wines that echo their origins, Charla Haasbroek's Cabernet Sauvignon 2017 is a sublime testament to her passion and expertise.

Tim Atkin MW (95)

Cuvée Cinéma is sourced from the top end of the Hemel-en-Aarde Valley from a clay- shales vineyard planted in 2009. The stems were unusually mature in 2019, so Peter-Allan Finlayson added 70% whole bunches. The result is sappy, spicy and quite dense, with effortless concentration, black cherry and plum fruit, sinewy tannins and good ageing potential. 2022-29

Tim Atkin MW (95)

Part of a brilliant line up of Pinot Noirs from Crystallum in 2020, this is a wine with evident tannin and extraction - more Nuits-St-Georges than Chambolle-Musigny perhaps - with plenty of grip, dark cherry and raspberry fruit, subtle 20% new wood and added complexity from 40% whole bunches.

Tim Atkin MW (95)

Jacob's Vineyard on the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge - also the source of Crystallum's Clay Shales Chardonnay - supplies the grapes for Cuvée Cinéma, which sits mid-way between Bona Fide and Mabalel in style. Perfumed, intense and grippy, with orange zest, cranberry and forest floor notes and well-handled 20% new oak.

James Suckling (99)

Expressive, scented and nimble on the nose with refined mineral and a hint of white sesame-like reduction. Subtle white pepper, herbs and red berries extend to a extremely mineral-textured palate full of tactile allures, which makes it even more engaging. I love the subtle delineation from this vintage, which is elegant, dialed-back and soft-spoken, full of etherealness and cohesion. A vintage where La Faraona delivers more austere minerality and verticality over the more perfumed, precise Las Lamas. From organically grown grapes. Delicious now, but will hold, too.

Oh, Las Lamas… she never disappoints, and what a fine vintage to play to her strengths. I honestly spent at least ten minutes just breathing in the phenomenal aromas of this wine. The nose is so open with a lovely fine balance, poised between sweet red fruit and granitic splendour. The palate is so mineral and the wet stone purity in this is exceptional. However, the deep cranberry fruit behind is gently sweet and frames the fine, incredibly long length. This has notes of raspberry tea and is another Bierzo wine with a rainwater finish. Gorgeous. Drink 2021-2030.

James Suckling (98)

A Bierzo with great depth and soft-spoken complexity, but still upbeat, effusing a mineral twist to the smoked herbs, iron, raw meat, black cherries, blueberries, dried botanicals, violets and slate. Medium to full body with an ethereal and layered mid-palate that leads to a super-long, lingering finish. The tannins are so dusty and polished. From organically grown grapes. Drinkable now, but better after 2024.

James Suckling (98)

Delineated, precise and elegant berries with subtle white pepper funk, mineral and white sesame characters make this so attractive. Nimble and almost “Atlantic” with fresh, tangy fruit that follows through to a textured, medium-bodied palate full of silky, mineral-textured tannins. The long, even and cohesive finish is persistent and ethereal. From organically grown grapes. Delicious now, but don’t underestimate its potential for aging, as balance is the key.