Wine Advocate (97)

2017 was a low-yielding year, so I also tasted the 2018 Reserva, their flagship red wine that wants to be a representation of the village of La Aguilera—fine, serious and elegant. It's 95% Tempranillo with the remaining grapes found interplanted in their oldest vineyards at an average of 880 meters in altitude on limestone, clay and sandy soils. All the clusters ferment together with indigenous yeasts in concrete, where they are foot trodden, and malolactic was carried out very slowly (11 months) in oak barrels where the wine matured for a total of 27 months. It has a somewhat shy nose but is very elegant. The wine was recently bottled, and that can make it a little closed and subtle, and it clearly improves with air as it sits in the glass. It's still young, and the palate reveals lots of energy; the flavors are very pure and the wine precise and delineated. The tannins are very fine and provide for a chalky texture and an almost salty twist in the finish. This is very in line with the 2016. 15,250 bottle and 101 magnums produced. It was bottled in February 2021.

Wine Advocate (96)

2019 was a warm and dry low-yielding year, somewhat similar to 2015, and the 2019 Reserva could be the modern version of the 2015—a round, lush and approachable Reserva that is perfumed and fruit-driven, with spices in the background. It's a hedonist cuvée of 95% Tempranillo and 5% other grapes from some of the oldest grapes in the village. It fermented in concrete with indigenous yeasts followed by a slow malolactic in 228-liter French oak barrels, mostly used, where the wine matured for 35 months. It reveals very good integration of the oak that is neatly folded into the wine. It shows the tannic structure of the 2019 vintage. 23,875 bottles and 430 magnums produced. It was bottled in September 2022.

Tim Atkin MW (98)

It’s easy to forget that the first vintage of Garmón was as recent as 2014 such is the quality of the wine, but the García family’s longstanding association with the region has certainly contributed to its success Picked 10 days later than the 2017 this is my favourite release yet, combining vineyards aged between 30 and 100 years in Anguix, Baños de Valdearados, Moradillo and Tubilla. Chalky, balanced and effortlessly refined, with notes of red berries, fennel and spice, subtle oak and thrilling freshness. A truly great Ribera.

Tim Atkin MW (97)

Eduardo García used fruit from six different villages – Anguix, Baños de Valdearados. La Aguilera, Moradillo, Quintanilla de Onésimo and Tubilla del Lago – to produce the latest vintage of this world-class red, blending their characters as an artist might mix a palette of colours. Spicy, chalky, structured yet refined, with haunting perfume, subtle oak, enviable density, energy and poise and the concentration to age.

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. 2023-32

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.

The top shelf expression of Hacienda Monasterio, the Reserva Especial is not produced every year and could be the equivalent of a Gran Reserva. It is typically a Temperanillo-dominated blend complemented with Cabernet Sauvignon. Quantities may vary but for the 2015 vintage, only 4,000 bottles were produced. Although sitting in bottle for years now, the estate doesn’t allow anyone to taste the wine until it's actually released, which is usually a few months later in the calendar year than its younger siblings.

Tim Atkin MW (96)

Bouncing back from the fires in 2019 - and then some - this is the best young Pinot Noir release I've tasted from Hamilton Russell. Representing a subtle shift in style towards greater perfume and fruit, this is a detailed, finely judged blend of clones 113, 115 and 667, with svelte tannins, tidy acidity, rose petal top notes and skilfully integrated oak.

Vinous (94)

The 2020 Viognier The Age of Grace has a subtle, well-defined bouquet of detailed lemon sherbet, lemon thyme and crushed pebble scents, poised and, yes, graceful. The palate is well balanced with a fine bead of acidity, and linear and quite steely toward the almost Chenin-like finish. This is not a flamboyant, Rhône-like Viognier – it’s is far more tensile and racy. It should age extremely well in bottle.

Wine Advocate (97)

Hands down the best Viognier in the country, the 2022 Estate Reserve Viognier is instantly impressive in the glass. It seduces and captivates with a delicate floral nose that overflows with aromas of just-ripe stone fruits and sweet citrus. Medium to full-bodied, the palate shows considerable weight with agile, succulent acidity before displaying an appropriate level of phenolic bitterness to keep things food friendly and fresh. The wine concludes with an elongated, ever-evolving finish that has me returning for more. Just under 1,600 bottles were produced. If you're a Viognier lover, you must seek out this bottling.

Christian Eedes (97)

Made from own vineyards that survived the fire and what a triumph it is. Matured for 11 months in 500-litre barrels, 40% new. The nose shows white peach, citrus and some struck-match reduction while the palate shows extraordinary concentration and well-integrated acidity before a super-long finish. It’s wonderfully well realized, possessing plenty of depth without sacrificing focus.

Vinous (94)

The 2021 Chardonnay Estate Reserve is 100% from Greyton matured for 11 months in 500-litre barrels, 40% new. It has a wonderful bouquet with honeydew melon, apricot blossom and light crushed stone scents that percolate through with time. The palate is very well balanced with tropical hints of passion fruit and guava, but the acidity keeps everything on a tight course, very minerally on the finish. Top class.

Vinous (96)

The 2022 Chardonnay Reserve comprises fruit from the Greyton homestead, which is oxidatively handled and fermented for 11 months in 500-liter barrels (25% new). After swirling to address the reduction, it reveals concentrated scents of dried honey, melted candle wax, orange blossom and a touch of grilled walnut. The palate is well-balanced with mineral-infused, slightly tropical fruit: quince and hints of guava that merge into a more mineral-driven taut finish. Quite a multi-faceted Chardonnay, this will age with style and panache. If that Corton-Charlemagne is a bit over-priced…and it probably is…then you know where to come.

Vinous (95)

The 2017 Syrah continues to serve as one of the Cape's finest expressions of the variety. Gorgeous scents of raspberry, strawberry, Earl Grey tea and pomegranate seeds feature on the detailed nose; then the palate is lithe and silky, with perhaps more garrigue notes coming through with bottle age. Divine.

Christian Eedes (93)

34% Grenache Blanc from Piekenierskloof, 31% Verdelho from Stellenbosch, 21% Roussanne from Stellenboch and 15% Chenin Blanc sourced from both Stellenbosch and Swartland. On the nose , white peach, potpourri and dried herbs. The palate is light bodied and tightly wound with pure fruit, fresh acidity and a very dry finish. Has a lovely restraint about it.

Christian Eedes (95)

50% Chenin Blanc, 42% Verdelho and 8% Grenache Blanc. Roussanne has been dropped from the mix this year while some of the Chenin Blanc is from the Piekenierskloof Skuinskap vineyard – Lourens opting not to release this as a standalone wine as he felt he left picking too late. Pretty and enticing aromatics of pear, peach, citrus plus hints of potpourri and dried herbs and a little flinty reduction while the palate has a dense core of fruit and comes across as entirely seamless. This is establishing itself as one of the best Cape White Blends around.

Wine Advocate (96)

The 2020 Paixar is the one wine from the portfolio that is completely different from the others and comes from high-altitude vineyards in the zone of Dragonte on slate soils. In 2020 and 2021 they used the whole field blend—reds and around 5% white grapes, which might have given it an extra spark of acidity. It matured in 5,000-liter oak vat and 500-liter oak barrels. It has a perfumed nose, elegant and floral, with good ripeness but without excess. It's finely textured with a chalky thread and great balance. It finishes long and dry. This is truly superb and should evolve nicely in bottle. It's now Vino de Paraje 'A Serra' in Dragonte, a parish of Corullón. 8,000 bottles were filled in November 2021.

Vinous (95)

Inky ruby. A deeply perfumed bouquet evokes ripe red and dark berries, Moroccan spices and floral pastilles, along with suggestions of cola, licorice and smoky minerals. Shows a suave blend of depth and energy to the sharply focused black raspberry, cherry vanilla, star anise and candied violet flavors, which deepen and become sweeter with aeration. Well-knit tannins add grip to a penetrating finish that leaves behind notes of dark berry preserves and spicecake.

Decanter World Wine Awards 2023 (97)

Our Best in Show journey across Northern Spain continues with a 2020 Bierzo, grown just across the provincial border from Galicia into Castilla y Léon. It’s another zone of steep slopes and old vines – the variety in this case being Mencia (known as Jaen in Portugal’s Dão region). This wine is deep black-red in colour and vivacious and urgent in aroma: wild plums mingled with the woodland scents of leaf, copse and forest floor. The palate is fruit-packed and vibrant, vigorous with an energy derived both from ripe acidity and fresh though smooth tannins; look out, too, for a stony, bitter-edged finish perhaps derived from the region’s slate soils. Wonderful drinking now in the flush of youth, but fruit of this quality will hold well for a few years yet.

Produced by the renowned vinicultural house, Minimalist Wines, the Stars in the Dark 2022 is a true testament to expert winemaking. Crafted from meticulously selected grapes from the sun-drenched vineyards in Santa Barbara County, it revels in elegance and sophistication. This distinguished Californian vintage has undergone an impressive twelve months of meticulous French oak aging, giving the wine a unique boldness and depth.

The Minimalist Wines Stars in the Dark 2022 offers a captivating blend of rich flavour, balancing sensual red fruit notes with subtle earthy undertones. The robust tannins marry seamlessly with hints of berry and dark chocolate, culminating in a long, satisfying finish.

This masterful creation is a perfect reflection of Minimalist Wines' commitment to sustainable agriculture and artisanal vinification techniques. It is a definitive exemplar of quality Californian wine, making the 'Minimalist Wines Stars in the Dark 2022' a must-have addition for any discerning wine connoisseur's collection.

Hailing from the revered vineyards of Basque Country, the Oxer Kuusu 2021 promises an exquisite voyage of the senses. This small-batch, artisanal wine is a brainchild of Oxer Bastegieta, a masterful producer dedicated to organic and biodynamic methods.

The Oxer Kuusu 2021 illustrates an enchanting mélange of intricate notes hinting at ripe berries, slate minerals, and soft undertones of vanilla. Astoundingly, this sensory palate is achieved entirely from hand-harvested, indigenous grape varieties, subjected to meticulous, traditional winemaking processes.

The wine is carefully matured in French oak barrels, fostering an opulent, yet balanced bouquet. Such exacting attention to detail lends Oxer Kuusu 2021 its distinct character, well-regarded among fine wine enthusiasts.

A bottle of Oxer Kuusu 2021 is not simply a wine; it's a testament to the grandeur of Basque viticulture and a true embodiment of its historic terroir. It is, undoubtedly, the beacon of artisanal winemaking.

Tim Atkin MW (96)

The latest in an impressive run of outstanding Chardonnays from this top Elgin estate - no mean feat in a vintage where some producers struggled with fructose levels - this is bigger and bolder than the 2017 release. More Meursault than Puligny-Montrachet perhaps, with some cream and cashew notes on the palate underpinned by racy acidity

Tim Atkin MW (95)

Arguably the most Burgundian of Cape Pinot Noirs, guided by the gentle hand of consultant Martin Prieur, this scented, refined red comesfrom three sites and is made with clones 113, 115 and 777. Savoury red fruit, bright acidity, filigree tannins and deftly integrated wood.

Wine Advocate (95)

Jorge Monzón considers 2020 to be an almost prefect vintage—cool and fresh, reminiscent of the great 2016. The pink 2020 Pícaro del Águila Clarete was produced with 35% Tempranillo, 35% Albillo Mayor and the rest other local grape varieties (Garnacha, Bobal, Bruñal, Monastrell, Tempranillo Gris, other Albillos, Garnacha Blanca, Pirules, Jaén, Moscatel, Malvasías...) found in the old vineyards. This is very different from your average rosé, more like a serious light red or powerful white that slowly fermented during 11 months and matured in barrel for 18 months. The orange-ish/pink wine is still young and lively, with some notes of toasted sesame seeds and a faint flinty reduction a little à la Coche-Dury, reminiscent of some vintages of their superb white. This was bottled without being racked, and perhaps that's why it has this nice reduction and could be the finest vintage to date. It has a strong chalky aftertaste from the limestone-rich soils, which makes it a terroir white, but it's also very marked by the style (which they updated from the traditional wines in Aranda in the old times) of a unique wine. It's balanced and mellow but not a shy wine, with 14% alcohol and a pH of 3.26. I've tasted 15+-year-old bottles of wines of this style, and they were still lively, so this one should not be shorter lived. Unique. Given my experience with past vintages, I'd wait a little before pulling the cork here. 8,358 bottles and 151 magnums produced. It was bottled in February 2022.

Wine Advocate (93+)

The youngest of the released wines I tasted is a red—the 2016 Pícaro del Águila Tinto. It is from what they consider to be one of the best and freshest vintages in recent times. This is produced with the vines from the warmer parts of La Aguilera, a cold place to start with (and in a cooler year). The old vines are planted with a mix that is dominated by Tempranillo but also contains some 5% other grapes. All the grapes are picked and fermented together with full clusters and natural yeasts in concrete and stainless steel vats. It matured in oak barrels for 13 months. This is fragrant, expressive, open, aromatic and really attractive. The palate is really balanced, with great freshness, fine tannins and a very pleasant mouthfeel—supple, balanced and with great depth. This is the best version of this bottling so far, and it seems like 2016 could be a great overall vintage, based on some other wines I sampled from cask (many of them have an extended élevage). 21,550 bottles and 624 magnums were filled unfiltered and unfined in November 2017.

Wine Advocate (93)

2017 was an unusually short crop as a result of terrible frost in April 2017, when thermometers reached -10 degrees Celsius in some places. The 2017 Pícaro del Águila Tinto, their entry-level and most approachable red, was seriously affected, of course. They lost some 60% of the volume, but the wine is incredible for the condition of the year. It feels a little more mysterious, not as expressive or open, a bit reductive perhaps, but the aromas are clean and don't show any excess ripeness. They did an amazing job eliminating all the raisins that didn't make it into the fermentation vat, and the extra workload has clearly paid off. The wine has some grip and fine, chalky tannins. 17,025 bottles and 487 magnums produced. It was bottled unfiltered and unfined and with just a little sulfur added in October 2018 after 12 months in oak barrels.

Wine Advocate (94+)

The youngest of the reds I tasted, the 2019 Pícaro del Águila Tinto is their most approachable red and is still serious, vibrant and aromatic with great length and still has good aging potential. They use the grapes from the warmest vineyards they have in the village of La Aguilera, form the northern part closer to La Horra, mostly Tempranillo but with some 5% of other varieties (red and white) interplanted in the old vineyards, fermented together with full clusters and indigenous yeasts and matured in French oak barrels for 15 months. Like the 2019 Clarete, this is young and tender and has more tension than I expected for a warmer year. It has less oak than previous years (only 10% or 15% new barrels), and the wine feels better balanced and is floral and aromatic. It's medium-bodied with a very fine texture, a pretty wine that drinks very well and doesn't reflect a warm year at all, as it has incredible freshness. A great Pícaro. They produced 69,852 bottles and 850 magnums, a notable increase in volume... while they increase the quality! It was bottled in February 2021.

Wine Advocate (95)

The juicy, velvety and aromatic red 2020 Pícaro del Águila Tinto is fine-boned and quite faithfully represents what they want to express with this cuvée; it's very tasty and has some chalkiness (perhaps through less ripeness than in years like 2018) with 14% alcohol and mellow acidity. The nose reveals some Côte-Rôtie-like notes of smoked meat and violets. 2020 delivered a good crop of healthy grapes that produced the finest wine to date for this bottling. This is superb, elegant and powerful, with everything in place (seems to be the signature of 2020) and perfectly integrated oak. 71,382 bottles and 1,979 magnums produced. It was bottled in September 2021.

Wine Advocate (100)

I was really looking forward to the bottled version of the 2018 Pingus after a great showing of the cask sample last year. Part of the wine matured in 20,000-liter oak casks, so it's not all barrique. This is the first time they used the vats, and based on the results, Sisseck thinks in the future Pingus will be around 50% in oak vats. The Pingus vines were planted in 1929 in two different sectors of the village of La Horra, Barroso and San Cristobal and contain some 2% other varieties. The vineyards are certified organic and biodynamic and are manicured like few vineyards in Spain. The wine is subtle and harmonious, elegant and insinuating, with all the components in very good balance. This is precise and pure; Sisseck is thorough and meticulous, and the wine shows that precision. This follows the line of the 2016, showing very well even if it was bottled only one month before I tasted it. 9,300 bottles were filled in August 2020.