Maria Casanovas
NV Cava Maria Casanovos ‘Brut de Brut’ Cava- The NV ‘Brut de Brut’ combines Macabeo, Parrillada and Xarel-Lo coming form limestone rich clay and gravel soils. Showing a refined mouthfeel, this leads with ginger and lime zest notes alongside wet chalky soils and suggestions of Gravenstein apple on the palate. Enjoy this beautiful wine now and over the next few years. Drink 2024-2030- 90
Bodega U Mes U Fan Tres
NV ‘1+1=3’ Cava- Made from old vine Macabeo, Xarel-lo and parellada, this offers good tension with a smooth mousse. Juicy melon and citrus fruits combine with salty undercurrents on the palate. This is really good for the price. Drink 2024-2030- 89
NV’1+1=3’ Rose Cava- A blend of mainly Garnacha (85%) with the remainder Pinot Noir, this offers a salmon hue with bright red raspberry and Bing cherry flavors with salted walnut and shades of orange zest on the palate. Soft and smooth throughout the drinking experience, this is a really nice value at a little over 20 bucks USD. Drink 2024-2030- 90
2021 Bodega U Mes U Fan Tres ‘Cygnus Albireo’ Cava Reserva- The 2021 Cygnus Albireo’ Cava Reserva was crafted from old vine Xarel-Lo, Parellada and Macabeo set on stony, clay loam and limestone-rich soils. Ornage peel and pink grapefruit zest combine with green apple on the palate. Enjoy now. Drink 2024-2030- 90
NV Bodega U Mes U Fan Tres ‘Sador’ Cava Reserva- The NV Bodega U Mes U Fan Tres ‘Sador’ Cava Reserva is soft on the mouth, revealing melon and citrus fruits alongside ripe strawberry notes. Medium-bodied with good poise, enjoy now. Drink 2024-2030- 90
Adegas Gran Vinum
2023 Nessa Albarino- The 2022 ‘Nessa’ comes from roughly 20 year old vines. Stored for two months in stainless steel on the lees prior to bottling, the ‘Nessa’ delivers a smooth texture with kiwi and gooseberry notes alongside shades of green melon and grapefruit pit. Gorgeous now, enjoy in its vibrant youth. Drink 2024-2030- 91
2023 Mar de Vinas Albarino- The bright 2022 Mar de Vinas Albarino is sourced from 30 year old vines. Saline drenched pear and cashew nut flavors combine with green papaya on the palate. Really good now, enjoy over the next few years. Drink 2024-2030- 91
The wine comes off beautifully textured, with good freshness and concentration. Layers of salted gooseberry and green apple combine with grassy and nutty undertones on the palate. This is seriously good value. Drink 2023-2028- 91
2023 Esencia Divina Albarino- An outstanding bottling by Gran Vinum, 2023 Esencia Divina Albarino was sourced from vines roughly 50 years of age. Aged on lees in stainless tanks before bottling, this offers serious texture and underlying tension with its salty essence. Rich melon and citrus fruits collide with hints of Yakima cherry. A seriously good wine, enjoy over the next eight years to come. Drink 2024-2032- 93
has wonderful saline drenched melon and citrus fruit tones on the palate, displaying serious tension and flavor density. Finishing very long, this is quite simply and incredible wine that will drink well for another eight years to come. Drink 2023-2031- 93
2023 Gran Vinum ‘Selección Especial’ Albarino- The brilliant 2023 Gran Vinum ‘Selección Especial’ Albarino comes from 50-year-old vines sourced from the Miranda Aurosa estate vineyard. Honeysuckle water, kiwi, white peach and juicy Pink Lady apple flavors all combine with salty minerals on the palate. Offering some serious weight and good verve, with nutty accents, enjoy this beautiful wine over the next ten years. Drink 2024-2034- 93
Bodega Arrocal
2022 Bodegas Arrocal Ribera del Duero- The 2022 Bodegas Arrocal Ribera del Duero is sourced from younger estate vines. Aged for nine months in a combination of French and American oak, this offers blackberry compote and espressos grounds with sandalwood tones on the palate. Soft and nicely textured, enjoy now and over the next few years. Drink 2024-2030- 91
2021 Bodegas Arrocal ‘Selección Especial’ Ribera del Duero- The outstanding 2021 ‘Selección Especial’ comes from the Los Astrales Vineyard which dates back to 1985. This is soft, round and generous on the mouth, delivering a beautiful core of black fruits alongside coffee grounds, violets and shades of graphite. Beautifully structured and layered, enjoy now and over the next ten years. Drink 2024-2034- 92
2019 Bodegas Arrocal ‘Reserva de Familia’ Ribera del Duero- The 2019 ‘Reserva de Familia comes from vines more than 70 year old that are grown in sandy clay soils. A brooding, deep color greets you, as the wine deftly battles both verve and power in the glass. In the end, like a heavyweight boxer, the power emerges, with massive dark and blue fruit flavors that are tamed with firm tannins and espresso ground flavors. A truly stunning wine, this is just a joy to consume now — but do your best to resist this massive wine for at least another year if you can. Drink 2024-2045- 95
Bodegas Penalba Herraiz
2021 Carravid Ribera Del Duero- The 2021 Carravid is a delicious wine that offers light tobacco leaf tones alongside a core of black fruits with chocolate and pencil lead notes. Medium to full-bodied, enjoy now. Drink 2024-2030- 91
Casa Lebai
2020 Casa Labai Matadiablos- A gorgeous wine from Ribera del Duero , the 2020 Casa Lbai Metadiablos comes from nearly 30 year old vines and was stored in French oak for 12 months before bottling. The palate is smooth and plush with refined tannins and a gorgeous core of black fruits, with baking spices, Turkish coffee and a graphite edge. Delicious now, watch this evolve over the next fifteen years. Drink 2024-2040- 94
San Roman
2021 San Roman ‘Prima’ Toro- The 2021 ‘Prima’ comes from Toro vineyards up to 50 years of age. Super juicy with dark currants, tobacco leaf and milk chocolate, alongside mint and scorched earth accents, enjoy now and over the next few years. Drink 2024-2031- 91
Isaac Fernandez Selección
2023 Egeo Rueda- This beautiful 100% Verdejo wine offers melon and walnut notes on the nose alongside shades of white peach. The palate is lithe and polished with serious underlying verve and salty undertones. A gorgeous rendition of this wine, enjoy now and over the next six years. Drink 2024-2030- 92
2021 Acentor Garnacha- The outstanding 2021 Acentor Garnacha delivers tar, allspice dusted red currants and cran-pomegranate aromatics. The palate is fresh and fat on the tongue, with a juicy core of citrus rind, freshly tilled salty soils and red fruits. Enjoy now. Drink 2024-2030- 91
2020 Acentor Maturana- This indigenous varietal is essentially not grown anywhere but Rioja. The 2020 Maturana is nicely salty and stony on the palate, with black raspberry, Earl Grey tea and shades of wet stone accents. Beautifully done with its soft mouthfeel, enjoy now and over the next eight years to come. Drink 2023-2031- 92
2019 Isaac Fernandez ‘Reserva’ Ribera del Duero- The 2019 Isaac Fernandez comes from Tina del Pais vines planted near the village of Roa de Duero at high elevation. Densely colored this delivers graphite and tar on the nose alongside dark currants and shades of violets. The palate is rich and layered with a polished texture. A gorgeous rendition of Ribera, this has a long life ahead of it. Drink 2024-2040- 93
2022 Finca La Mata Ribera del Duero- A really cool wine, the 2022 Finca La Mata is sourced from old vine Tinta del Pais. This is generous and round on the mouth with a vibrant acidity and dense sense of weight. Black currants and milk chocolate flavors parade with dusty minerals and damp earth on the palate. This is delicious, beautifully evolved stuff that should be consumed over the next few years. Drink 2024-2030- 92
Elias Mora
2018 Elias Mora ‘La Senda de Los Lobos’ Toro- A world-class wine, the 2018 Elias Mora ‘La senda de Los Lobos’ Toro was sourced from 80 year old Tinta de Toro vines and was stored in 100% new French oak for 17 months prior to bottling. This edition is every bit as good as the scintillating 2017. Mocha, tar, damp earth and bulls blood parade with exotic spices on the palate. Full-bodied, with a brilliant core of pure black fruits, this is heady, concentrated and beautifully structured wine that has a long way to go in the cellar. Drink 2024-2044- 96
2022 Elias Mora ‘Toro’ Toro- The 2022 ‘Toro’ is a great new effort that is drinking marvelously right now. Coffee grounds, black fruits and shades of scorched earth all combine with the wonderful verve on the palate. Delicious and lithe, enjoy over the next eight years. Drink 2024-2032- 92
2020 Elias Mora ‘Crianza’ Toro- The 2020 ‘Crianza’ is sourced from Tinta de Toro vines set at roughly 800 meters. Inky in the glass, this takes on a gorgeous bouquet of red raspberry and garrigue notes alongside pencil lead and shades of Black Forest cake. The palate is soft and refined with a silky texture and beautiful underlying tension. Dense and heady, enjoy now and over the next ten to fifteen years. Drink 2024-2036- 93
2017 Elias Mora ‘Reserva’ Toro- A stunning wine that is now at the seven year mark, the 2017 ‘Reserva’ is deeply colored in the glass. Coming from old vine Tinta de Toro, this offers freshly tilled salty soils, tar and tobacco leaf notes on the nose alongside a graphite edge. THe palate is dense and complex with refined tannins and a great sense of weight, showing off a beaitufl range of black fruit flavors. Elegant and sinfully good now, watch this evolve over the next fifteen years. Drink 2024-2039- 94
Vina Otano
2018 Vina Otano Graciano Rioja- A knockout wine, the 2018 Graciano is big and bold, loaded with Welche’s grape juice and black raspberry flavors on the palate. Full-bodied and generous on the mouth, with lovely herbal and damp earth tones, enjoy now and over the next ten years. Drink 2024-2034- 93
2019 Vina Ontano Maturana- Deep purple in the glass, the 2019 Maturana offers purple flowers on the nose alongside tar, tobacco leaf and worn leather notes. The palate is fat and full with good underlying acidity. Enjoyable now, consume over the next eight years. Drink 2024-2032- 92
2017 Vina Otano ‘Reserva’ Rioja- A great wine from this vintage, the 2017 ‘Reserva’ was stored for 18 months in a combination of both French and American oak barrels before bottling. It is silky and rich throughout the drinking experience. Garrigue, tar, blackberry compote and red raspberry notes parade with salty minerals and freshly tilled soils on the palate. A enjoy to consume now, enjoy over the next ten years. Drink 2024-2034- 93
2016 Vina Otano ‘Gran Reserva’ Rioja- A world class wine from 2016, this ‘Gran Reserva’ spent 24 months in French and American oak barrels and then a further 36 months in barrel before bottling. Sandalwood and blackberry compote mark the nose alongside coffee grounds and shades of black currants. The palate is big and bold with a refined texture and great underlying tension, filled with salty minerals. A stunning wine now at the eight year mark, enjoy now and over the next ten plus years to come. Drink 2024-2036- 95
Legado Del Moncayo
2023 Legado Del Moncayo Garnacha Blanca- The 2023 Legado Del Moncayo Garnacha Blanca comes from 50 year old estate vines set on granite and sandy loam soils. This is salty and fresh with great texture and loaded with bright green apple, kiwi and cantaloupe flavors. Enjoy now and over the next few years. Drink 2024-2030- 91
2023 Legado Del Moncayo Garnacha- This 2023 Garnacha offers a smooth mouthfeel with bright red fruits that mingle with citrus rind and salty soils on the palate. Enjoy now. Drink 2024-2030- 90
2021 Legado Del Moncayo ‘Vendima Seleccionada’ Garnacha- The seriously good 2021 Legado Del Moncayo ‘Vendima Seleccionada’ Garnacha comes from 40-60 year old bush vines set at 700-750 meters. Showing off its dark core, this delivers good depth and concentration with smoked meats, kumquat rind and dense red fruits with salty minerals and brilliant tension on the palate. A killer buy at under 20 dollars USD, enjoy now and over the next few years. Drink 2024-2032- 92