Pronounced and pretty complex nose with walnuts, hazelnut chocolate and sweet spices to the savory plummy fruit. Just a hint of leather and bark from the tertiary side of the nose. Tannins are quite firm and somewhat chewy on the medium- to full-bodied palate with plenty of flavor in the long, creamy finish. The wood tannins will need at least two more years to settle. Better from 2025.

This is an immensely satisfying mouthful of wine with sweet vanilla oak, black/red cherry fruit, cassis and blackberry scents. The palate has polished black fruit appeal, sleek oak layering, sandy-grained tannins and a pulsating refined finish. A magnificent wine that will doubtlessly develop slowly and surely.

Aromas of spiced cherries, blueberries, orange peel, savory plums and some chocolate and vanilla. It’s medium-to full-bodied with creamy tannins. Caressing texture with a fresh core of dark fruit on the center-palate, before a long, juicy finish. Drink or hold.

Aromas of blackberry, Red Delicious apple peel and menthol prep the palate for flavors of cassis, purple plum, vanilla, violet and eucalyptus. A wall of compact tannins comes on strong but evaporates into a long, minty finish.

Well-balanced and fresh, this medium-bodied version is tightly meshed at first, though opening nicely in the glass to display flavors of ripe cherry and red currant, mocha, iron and spiced orange peel. The lively finish is firmed by fine, taut tannins.

Complex aromas of blackberries, chocolate and spice follow through to a medium body with firm, juicy tannins and a flavorful finish. Tempranillo.

An elegant red, with a bright beam of cherry wrapped in a bow of vanilla and cedar. Shows a firm edge of tannins lining the long finish, but food or a few years of aging will take care of that. Fine balance and length. Tempranillo and Graciano. 

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.

Lots of vanilla, chocolate-coated blackberries, cedar, tobacco and glazed dark cherries. Medium to full body, succulent tannins and a fruit-driven but tangy finish. Drink in 2021.

Raised for two years in new and used American oak barrels) Deep red. Lively, spice-accented red berry and dried cherry aromas, along with suggestions of potpourri, coconut and woodsmoke. Smooth and expansive on the palate, offering bitter cherry and raspberry flavors that pick up a zesty mineral quality with air. Candied rose and mocha notes linger on a smoke-tinged finish that shows very good clarity and fine-grained tannins.

Classic Rioja aromas of graphite, cherry, plum and oak are lightly toasted and spicy. On the palate, this offers chewy depth and impeccable balance. Ripe, heady plum, cassis and berry flavors are also nuanced and elegant, while this gran reserva from a ripe vintage tastes of vanilla and mild oak on the finish.

This polished red is focused and harmonious. Black cherry, tea, licorice, dried orange and spice notes mingle over firm, well-integrated tannins, while orange peel acidity keeps this lively. Expressive, in the traditional style. Drink now through 2024. 20,000 cases made, 8,500 cases imported. — TM