Spain

Gourmet Magazine 96 points. 200 Monges Gran Reserva  is a red wine produced by  Bodegas Vinícola Real  in a small winery situated in the town of Albelda de Iregua in the D.O. La Rioja. This wine is a blend of varieties; Tempranillo (85%), Graciano (10%) and Garnacha (5%) which are grown from 45-year-old vines. The harvest is done by hand and the grapes are transported to the winery in small 15kg boxes which prevents any possibility of the grapes being squashed. 200 Monges Gran Reserva  is fermented for 13 days in conical French Allier wooden vats at a temperature between 25 to 30 degrees. After that there is a 28...

Decanter Magazine 94 points. Winery Note: It is a blend of Tempranillo (85%),Graciano (10%) and Garnacha (5%) grape varieties which are grown from very old vines. The harvest is done by hand and the grapes are transported to the winery in small 15kg boxes which ensures that they are not damaged before they reach the winery. The grapes are destemmed before fermentation and then placed in Allier wood vats for 11 days at a temperature between 24 to 28 degrees. They stay with their skins for an additional 25 days which contributes to the wines fine tannins and the final colour which lasts for a long time. The winery applies a daily pumping of...

Tim Atkin MW 93  points. “Created in a decade of intense passion and dedication, we present this unique wine, fruit of an excellent harvest, as an expression of our deepest being. Our wine is the colour, the bouquet, the taste, the soul. Spill it on your life where memories are stored". GRAPE VARIETIES Tempranillo 100%. A selection of the third harvest bunches from our best and less productive vineyards of an average age of 46 years. Harvested by hand into 10kg. crates. Fermentation in French “Allier”oak vats for 10 days at a temperature of 30oC. Malolactic fermentation takes place in “barrique”...

WA 97 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, April 2022 The eponymous red 2020 4 Kilos is a delicate, pure Callet bottled at 12% alcohol from 20- to 50-year-old, organically farmed vines in different vineyards on call vermell red soils in the village of Felanitx. It fermented in equal parts in stainless steel and oak vats with indigenous yeasts and matured in third- and fourth-use 600-liter Allier oak barrels for 12 months. It's perfumed and elegant, with notes of dried rose petal and talcum powder, perfumed and spicy, with orange peel freshness. This is serious and balanced, not exuberant, it's even a little shy, insinuating and tasty...

WA 98 The impressive 1927 Pedro Ximenez Solera, from a Solera begun nearly 80 years ago, boasts a dark amber color as well as an extraordinary nose of creme brulee, liquefied nuts, marmalade, and maple syrup. Huge and viscous, yet neither cloyingly sweet nor heavy, it is a profound effort priced unbelievably low. It is meant to be drunk alone at the end of a meal.Drink now through 2050, or even longer. RPJ Nov 2015. #95

The Ànima Negra winery is a relatively new winery, which was founded in 1994 with the idea of making quality wines yet remaining faithful to the character of the island by using local varieties in their processes. Ànima Negra is a purely Mallorcan blend, consisting of  Callet, Mantonegro and Fogoneu varieties , along with a small percentage of  Syrah .  AN/2  is aged for 13 months in barrels of French and American oak.   #ANIMA    

Wine Advocate 92 points. This is a blend of 85% Garnacha Tintorera and 15% Monastrell from dry-farmed, head-pruned vines that are planted on limestone soils and average 45 years of age. It fermented in open-top stainless steel vats with neutral yeasts and matured in French oak barrels for one year. This feels harmonious and integrated, still young and a little creamy, but it was only bottled one month before I tasted it. There's more freshness and balance here, the 2020 is the most harmonious of the three vintages I tasted side by side. 54,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in February 2022.  

Wine Advocate  97 Points, Luis Gutiérrez, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: "The new red blend 2020 Alma Contador is going to be sold mostly through the négociants from Bordeaux. It was produced with grapes from three vineyards in San Vicente de la Sonsierra at different altitudes and is a blend of Tempranillo with 8% Garnacha with limited yields because of mildew. It matured in new French barriques for 20 months. He wanted a more classical image and perhaps a more classical profile of wine. It's perfumed and floral, with notes of aromatic herbs, a little balsamic and quite showy, with very fine tannins and...

Is this the world's most underpriced wine? Definitely a top contender. Not rated yet. Both 2011 and 2012 vintage received 93 points from Wine Enthusiast. Bodegas Franco-Españolas  was born in 1890 as the union between France and Spain at a peak moment in Rioja, when the French came to the region trying to replace their vineyards devastated by the phylloxera disease. It was the origin of the “fino wines of Rioja”. In 2015 the winery celebrated its 125th anniversary and in 2016,  Borja Eguizábal  assumes management, giving way to the third generation of the Eguizábal family as owners of...

96/100 El País 2016, 2017, 2018 y 2019 wine yearbook 97/100 SEVI 2019 wine guide Grape variety Bobal, Cabernet, Merlot & Shiraz. Tasting note Colour:  Intense deep red. Aroma:  Powerful and elegant aroma presents great diversity of shades with a background of red ripe fruit on a very well integrated wood that gives complexity and distinction to the wine. Taste:  Majestic, velvety and silky touches, slipping through the mouth with density, noticing the mature, well cured tannin with oak. Very long and harmonious finish.  

Sevi Guide 97 points. Tasting note Colour:  Lemon golden yellow. Aroma:  Very high intensity, with great complexity and elegance, with hints of fruit mature, dried fruit and a background of vanilla and butter. Taste:  Very creamy, full and elegant with splendid, final balanced acidity and very long passage through the mouth. We pick the best grapes from low yielding vines from our own vineyards of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, which have just 3.500 plants per hectare. The grapes are collected in special boxes, each one weighing 15kg. We only harvest in the morning in order to keep the grapes at an optimum temperature until they...

James Suckling 94 points. TASTING NOTE  This wine is intense garnet in colour with ruby hues. On the nose, there are complex aromas of ripe plum, blackberry and blackcurrant combining with layers of cocoa, sweet spice and tobacco notes. This wine exhibits an earthy minerality, a common characteristic of wines made from grapes sourced from the low yielding ‘Viña Lanciano’ estate. This wine has a long, lingering finish. LAN a Mano  is produced from the varieties  Tempranillo  (85%),  Mazuelo  (10%) and  Graciano  (5%). The grapes originate from old vines of about 35 years old from Pago...

James Suckling 94 points. TASTING NOTE  This wine is intense garnet in colour with ruby hues. On the nose, there are complex aromas of ripe plum, blackberry and blackcurrant combining with layers of cocoa, sweet spice and tobacco notes. This wine exhibits an earthy minerality, a common characteristic of wines made from grapes sourced from the low yielding ‘Viña Lanciano’ estate. This wine has a long, lingering finish. LAN a Mano  is produced from the varieties  Tempranillo  (85%),  Mazuelo  (10%) and  Graciano  (5%). The grapes originate from old vines of about 35 years old from Pago...

The barrels used to make LAN 7 METROS come from a few Spanish oak specimens, selected for their exceptional growth, with at least 7 metres of trunk clear of branches and knots. A new wine that seeks to find a perfect balance between fruit and oak, bringing new nuances and aromas. GRAPE VARIETIES: 100% Tempranillo. VINEYARDS: “La Canoca” – 5 ha and 45 years old – located in the highest part of San Vicente de la Sonsierra (Rioja Alta) and “Paulejas” – 2.8 ha and 38 years old - in Viñaspre (Rioja Alavesa). WINEMAKING: Alcoholic fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks with very little...

LAN Reserva spent In hybrid barrels, staves of American oak and tops of French oak, for at least 20 months, followed by 18 months in bottle. Don't keep this Reserva for a special occasion that might never arrive. GRAPE VARIETIES: 95% Tempranillo, 5% Mazuelo VINEYARDS: Selected grapes from 25 years old vines coming from parcels located in Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa. WINEMAKING: Fermentation in stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature of no more than 26ºC so as not to lose the aromas from the grapes. Maceration for 3 weeks with pumping over to achieve a good extraction of colour. AGEING: 18 months in hybrid barrels of...

  Tim Atkin 93 points.   Viña Lanciano is the basis for our winery's original philosophy. Its name reflects the essence of a unique enclave, embraced by the river. A magical location, where the vestiges of ancient history lie, such as the remains of the Roman Mantible bridge, which features on its label. Viña Lanciano has encapsulated LAN's philosophy and expertise from the outset.     GRAPE VARIETIES: 96% Tempranillo, 2% Graciano, 2% Mazuelo over 30 years old vines coming from our Viña Lanciano estate. VINEYARDS: Viña Lanciano estate, our own 72 hectares vineyard embraced by a curve...

Magazine Gourmets 92 points. The grapes were sourced from 40-year-old vines located in the towns of Quintana del Pidio, La Horra and Roa de Duero within the province of Burgos. These old vines produce low yields of very concentrated and intense fruit, packed full of flavour. The vineyards are on south-facing slopes at an altitude of 850 metres above sea level. Cool nights at this altitude counteract the heat of the days and allow the grapes to retain a balancing acidity. This Crianza offers a robust blend of ripe red and dark fruits, complemented by notes of oak, vanilla, and spices. Its well-structured tannins and balanced acidity lead to a...

James Suckling 94 points. "A deep and ambitiously structured Rioja with an array of fresh blue and black fruit, as well as classy oak spices and sandalwood. Full bodied and juicy, loaded with polished tannins, but the fruit core remains dry and elegant without superfluous sweetness. Ending long and spicy. A little tight and monolithic now, so give it a year or two to evolve and soften more. Heavy bottle! Drink from 2024." JS. Culmen Reserva is a classic of both the LAN cellar and La Rioja. Culmen Reserva is made from the  Tempranillo (85%) and Graciano  (15%) varieties. The grapes come from a rigorous selection of vines...

  LAN Reserva spent In hybrid barrels, staves of American oak and tops of French oak, for at least 20 months, followed by 18 months in bottle. Don't keep this Reserva for a special occasion that might never arrive. James Suckling 91 points. Lan Reserva 2017 envelops us with an aromatic palette where plum and ripe cherry intertwine with hints of vanilla and pepper. Upon tasting, it greets us with a richness that saturates the palate, emphasizing its expressive nature and smooth tannins that yield to a finish where flavors of chocolate, macerated fruits, and a lingering persistence beckon one to continue savoring each sip. This red...

LAN Xtrème Organic is the extreme manifestation of the LAN philosophy in terms of respect for the raw materials. A wine made with minimal intervention from the outset, the result of a selection of vines from the Ecological Mantible parcel, named as such due to its proximity to the Roman Mantible Bridge. GRAPE VARIETIES: 100% Tempranillo with organic certification.  VINEYARDS: Mantible Ecológico, a 5-hectare parcel on the Viña Lanciano estate. 400 metres above sea level with terrain sloping down in a East-West direction. Sandy loam soils with an abundance of small and medium-sized pebbles.  WINEMAKING: After...

DO Mancuelo   Wine Advocate 93 points. The 2021 La Xara is the latest bottled vintage of their pure Garnacha from a vineyard that benefited from the extra rain from the year and ripened slowly to perfection. They think they achieved more Garnacha typicity here but keeping the freshness and fluidity. It's only 12.5% alcohol and has a mellow 3.6 pH and five grams of acidity. The full clusters fermented in 4,500-liter oak vats with indigenous yeasts and matured in 600-liter barrel and 10,000-liter oak vats with the fine lees for seven months. This is austere and serious, with a reticent nose, contained ripeness and a sharp and mineral...

Guia Penin 92 points. Colour: bright cherry;Aroma: fruit expression, red berry notes, ripe fruit, sweet spices;Flavour: good acidity, spicy, fine tannins. Casa Castillo Monastrell is a red wine from D.O Jumilla produced by the winery Finca Casa Castillo, in Jumilla (Murcia). Casa Castillo Monastrell is a monovarietal of Monastrell, a local grape from the region. The vines are planted in crusty brown limestone soil in the field El Valle. The harvest is completed at the end of September and the grapes are transported to the winey in large 1,500kg containers. For production after a careful destemming phase, the grape is fermented with...

Gold Medal Challenge International Du Vin 2018 France. Gold Medal, Mundus Vini 2018. Cabernet Sauvignon 85%, Tempranillo 15% from 35 year old vines. Aging is done in oak barriques for around 30 months, giving a fine structure and complex aromas. Later, the wine is aged in bottle for 5 years giving a unique bouquet. Needs time to open in the glass, complex aromas of liquorice, leather and spices, high intensity. On the palate it is well balanced, powerful and delicate, extraordinary quality and fresh afterpalate.

Wine Enthusiast 94 points ...."possibly the best Merlot in Spain." (2017 Vintage) Trophy, DO NAVARRA, Best Red. 2019. Gold 2022, Bacchus Wine. Premium old vine fruit, matured in 100% new French oak. An absolutely delicious wine at a price which defies credulity. This one is a gem. Description: Our vineyard “Deyo” is named after the old Castle of Monjardin, it grows extraordinary Merlot. Aged for 14 months in new French Barriques. It has a deep ruby color and intense aroma of fruits. It is rounded, well structured with flavors of liquorices and cocoa. Grape: 100% Merlot Vineyard: Deyo, 32 years old Terroir: Clay...

Gold Medal, Mundus vini 2022. Gold Medal, Concourse de Grenache Challenge 2022. Gold Medal IWC 2021. Description: From our vineyard “La Cantera”, 75 years old, we keep growing excellent Garnacha grapes, delicate and with high concentration. Aged during 6 months in barriques, maintains its uniqueness while gives some structure and aromas of cacao. Ruby in color, it has flavors of ripe red berries, well balanced and smooth palate. Grape: 100% Garnacha Vineyard: La Cantera, 75 years old Terroir: Stones Altitude: 500 m. Aging: 6 months in barrique Alcohol: 13,5% #COMP

Gold, Mundial Canada 2022. Gold Medal IWC 2023. One of the few Pinot Noir grown in Spain from “El Cerezo” vineyard that is 30 years old. From a high altitude, it has a delicate ruby color. On the palate is very elegant, well balanced with flavors of red berries. Aged for 6 months in oak barriques gives nice aromas of vanilla and toast tannins. Grape Variety:  100 % Pinot Noir   Vineyard:  “ El Cerezo “ ( 30 years, 650 mtrs )

Trophy, Best Rose from Spain, Mundus Vini 2022. (2022 vintage) Gold Medal: Mundus Vini 2024.  Gold Medal: IWC 2024.  Description: Rose made as it is traditionally in Navarra by the saigne method, “De Lagrima”. Harvested at night, its structure and color are lighter, it is pink with vibrant blue notes. Delicate aromas of wild berries. It is fresh on the palate with nice acidity, incredible depth of flavors. Grape: Lagrima mainly Garnacha and Cabernet Sauvignon Vineyard: Campanaldia, Monjardin Valley Terroir: Calcareous Altitude: 450 m. Aging: No oak Alcohol: 13%

Gold, Mundus Vini 2022. Tempranillo Especial Superior 2017. 100% Tempranillo Grape Family Vineyards - planted 1896.  Vineyard&Soil Tempranillo vineyard from the Monjardin Valley area. Fine loamy or silty soil textures on alternating tertiary continental marls and sandstones. Altitude - 650 meters Age - more than 40 years Extension - 1,5 Ha / yield of 5.000 kg per Ha Pre-fermentative cold maceration. Fermentation in steel tanks. Aging in second-use 50/50 French and American barrels during 2 years. Refinement in the bottle for 2 years. Composition Alcohol: 14 % / Acidity: 4,4 g/l . Tasting notes:  Ruby color, it has intense...

Monjardin

Wine Advocate tasting note: The village red from Venta del Moro is the 2020 Delmoro produced with 70% Garnacha and 30% Syrah from 15- to 40-year-old vineyards. The grapes fermented separately with 50% full clusters in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts. The Garnacha matured in stainless steel, and the Syrah was racked into concrete for malolactic and five months' aging. It has 13% alcohol and very good freshness. This has an amazing Mediterranean profile, showy, juicy, aromatic and rich without being heavy. The tannins are fine, and the finish is dry and long. It's easy to drink but not banal, for all consumers, wine savvy or...

Wine Advocate 93 points. Juan António Ponce told me 2021 is one of those vintages when you realize in wine you never know everything... He thinks the 2021 Clos Lojen is the most complete vintage ever for this wine, with unusual freshness (despite "normal" parameters like a pH of 3.7 and five grams of acidity) and 12% alcohol. It's intense and has varietal Bobal typicity with good weight. It fermented in 4,500-liter oak vats with 100% full clusters and indigenous yeasts and matured in 4,500-, 10,000- and 15,000-liter French oak vats for six months. This is sharp and austere, with lower alcohol and is more mineral than...

Wine Advocate 95 points. The 2017s feel relaxed, something unusual in Priorat. The 2017 Clos Martinet has seen a change, as they stopped using the sorting table and stopped using the pied de cuve, because the harvest was very easy. They harvested in August—the earliest ever until 2018—and they didn't have time to do anything; so, they put the grapes in the vats and let them ferment, and that's what they have been doing ever since. They feel that there is less manipulation of the grapes now, and that could have helped to make wines more relaxed. This is truly harmonious and expressive, elegant and powerful, not showing any...

Wine Advocate 96 points. The flagship 2018 Clos Martinet is the wine that started it all and is still a blend of Garnacha (Tinta and Peluda), Syrah, Cariñena, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Monastrell as it was since the beginning but now with a restrained 13.5% alcohol and higher acidity. Clos Martinet is a single five-hectare terraced vineyard planted with clonal material in 1986 on decomposed llicorella slate, iron and big rocks in the soil. The varieties are co-fermented depending on the date picked—at three different ripening times—in two concrete vats and 200-liter oak vats with indigenous yeast and whole clusters....

Wine Advocate 94 points. There is a change in the 2022 La Bruja. It is no longer a village wine from Rozas de Puerto Real. In 2022, it is a regional wine, and in 2023, it also will be a regional wine but from Ávila, from the Cebreros appellation, as they are focusing their work there. It's a juicy and aromatic Garnacha, very much in the Comando G style, with good ripeness, 14% alcohol and more in the style of the 2020. It has a medium-bodied palate and a sapid finish with contained ripeness and fine granite granularity. They macerated less to adapt to the vintage, and it partly fermented with less skins. It's a more...

Wine Advocate 95 points. The single-vineyard Garnacha 2020 La Mujer Cañón is always a bright and clean ruby color from a north-facing, one-hectare plot of vines that were planted in 1934 on granite soils at 950 meters in altitude. The vineyard is worked organically and biodynamically. Fermentation was with indigenous yeasts and full clusters in an oak vat, and then the wine matured in 700-liter oak barrels. The wine has a little more of everything: more fruit, more grip, more energy and balance. The vineyard has been quite stable in the last few years; the grapes ripened thoroughly, and it was an easy vintage. The wine has a...

Rated 91 by James Suckling "A fruity and plummy nose with lots of cherries, strawberries and some spices. Ripe, crunchy and fruit-expressive on the medium-bodied palate rounded by firm and nicely chewy tannins. Not complex, but has good length in the finish. Drink now."

James Suckling 94 points. "Very classic character to this with toasted oak, hints of consomme, meat and dried lemon. Medium body with crisp, firm tannins. Drink or hold."   91+ Points, Luis Gutiérrez, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: "The 2017 Cune Gran Reserva comes from a very challenging year marked by frost and a dry and warm end of the season, but it shows very good freshness and youth, transcending the adverse conditions of the year. It's a blend of 85% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo with good ripeness and 14% alcohol; it's approachable and affordable with a mix of developed and...

James Suckling 96 points. Tim Atkin MW 94 points. Contino Graciano is a single-variety Graciano red wine produced by the Bodega Viñedos del Contino in the D.O.Ca. Rioja. Bodegas Viñedos del Contino started out in Laguardia in 1973, although the estate dates back to the 16th century. It is considered to have been the first to use the Bordeaux “Château” style in La Rioja, an idea driven by the CVNE centennial winery. Viñedos del Contino has 62 hectares of sandy-calcareous and clayey-calcareous soils with boulders and influenced by an Atlantic-Mediterranean climate. A “contino” is the name for...

JS 98 James Suckling. Polished and structured with firm, very fine tannins. Lots going on here, with layers of black fruit, dried spices, graphite, coconut and cracked pepper. Full-bodied and so intense. Keeps going. Long. The tannins are so fine and so numerous. One of the greatest modern gran reservas. 85% tempranillo, 10% graciano and 5% mazuelo. Try in 2025. WE 96 Wine Enthusiast. Deep red-violet in the glass, this wine has a bouquet of cherry, black currant and juniper. Durable tannins coat the palate, bearing flavors of cassis, dark plums, dark chocolate and violet that lead into the spice-filled finish. RP 95 Robert Parker's Wine...

This is very powerful and rich with amazing depth of fruit and ripe tannins. Full body. Round and chewy tannins. Super depth and beauty in this pure tempranillo. Needs time in the cellar. Better after 2021. 97 points, James Suckling (Dec 2019). "CVNE has been on a roll lately, and this ace from a great vintage only helps to keep that roll going. Stout aromas of bramble, berry fruits, tobacco and fine oak are highly convincing, as is a muscled-up palate that's showing superb structure. Black-plum and cassis flavors are more up front delicious than complex, although further aging may flip the script. Best from 2023 onward. Michael...

Wine Advocate 92+. A new wine from the Viña Real winery, the 2020 Bakeder is a village red produced with Tempranillo grapes from Laguardia. It has contained oak and good ripeness at 13.95% alcohol, a more modern style of red that shows very young, quite fruit-driven and with a soft mouthfeel and velvety tannins. It has purity of fruit, elegance and finesse with respectful oak after 10 months in French barriques. There are some 30,000 bottles of this. It was first produced in 2019. LG Jul 2022.  

Wine Advocate 92 points. The 2017 Viña Real Reserva displays more advanced characteristics than the 2018 I tasted next to it. It has notes of forest floor intermixed with hints of fruit, berries in liqueur and some spices. 2017 was a very challenging year, and the wine is evolving at a faster pace. It's 13.9% alcohol and has a pH of 3.54, coming through as polished and ready to drink now. It's mostly Tempranillo with 10% other grapes—Graciano, Garnacha and Mazuelo. It matured in barrel for 18 months. 174,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in March 2020. LG Jul 2022.

The 2021 Las Uvas de la Ira, produced and sold before by Dani Landi, is now a wine from Vitícola Mentridana under the direction of Curro Bareño, who takes over in this cool vintage. It was produced in the same way, from six vineyards in the village El Real De San Vicente, fermented separately and, depending on the vineyards, with shorter or longer macerations (longer in the vineyard they called El Fin del Mundo). Vinification has been like this since 2017, with contained extraction from the earlier-ripening vineyards and getting more grip from the slow-ripening places that have the rock and give the grip. It has contained...

Wine Advocate 92 points. The Monastrell red 2021 Depaula comes from vines at 700 meters in altitude on very poor soils, and sometimes the grapes don't ripen properly; but that was not the case in 2021, when the vines had enough water to ripen all the grapes thoroughly and produced a wine with very pure varietal character. It's fresh, balsamic and herbal, with a limestone core that delivers length and freshness coupled with a juicy Mediterranean character. Really good value. The wine has an incredible 12.5% alcohol. It's quite different from the 2020; they picked the grapes 15 days later than normal, and the grapes ripened...

James Suckling 90 points. Edulis Crianza is a red wine from the Rioja developed by the Altanza winery. This winery, founded in 1998, is located in the town of Fuenmayor (Rioja Alta). Edulis Crianza is made from 100% Tempranillo. The grapes come from vineyards planted at an altitude of between 380 and 500m on clay-calcareous soils and ferrous clay. For maintenance and cultivation of vineyards, non-chemical herbicides or pesticides are used. Edulis Crianza development is carried out using a conventional winemaking. The alcoholic fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks at a controlled temperature of 28°C and lasts 12 to 15 days....

Wine Advocate 94+. The single-vineyard red 2020 A Ponte comes from vines planted in 2010 replicating the old varietal mix, going back to ancestral times with 30% Mencía and then equal parts of Caíño Redondo and Caíño Longo, Sousón, Brancellao and Merenzao. The soils are slate with iron, quartz and mica, and this plot has a southeast exposition. The vines are getting older, which shows in the structure, and the mix of varieties always gives it a different nose. There is good freshness, and the wine is expressive and open. It has fine-grained tannins. 4,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in February...

Wine Advocate 92 points. The young red 2021 Vino Tinto is one of the first 2021 reds from Galicia that I taste from bottle. 2021 is supposed to be a return to the conditions of the vintages from yesteryear—cooler and with less ripeness, lower alcohol and more acidity but also viticultural challenges. This is always a sure value, and it is mostly Mencía with some 15% other local reds (Brancellao, Merenzao, Garnacha Tintorera, Mouratón, Negreda, Sousón, Caíño...) sourced from old vineyards. It is young and fermented in stainless steel and was kept in contact with the lees for four to eight months before...

Wine Advocate 94 points. There are two new reds from 2020 to compare the character of the wines from the Sil and the ones from the Miño. The one from the Miño is the 2020 Mundín, which is not slate, but granite. The wine was produced the same way as the San Pedro, fermented in oak vats with 40% full clusters and matured in a 3,000-liter oak foudre for 18 months. It has a little less alcohol and more freshness, and it feels a little lighter and not as showy but with great balance and subtleness. 3,500 bottles were produced. It was bottled in November 2022. LG Nov 2023.

Wine Advocate 92 points. One of the new wines this time was the 2019 Pedra, a blend of 80% Mencía and 20% other varieties. It matured in a granite egg that they feel opens the wines up quite a lot and 30% in oak to give it structure. It's fruit-driven, fresh and light with 13% alcohol from a very good vintage in the zone, not terribly complex and with a medium body and polished tannins. Ready. 1,000 bottles were filled in May 2023. LG Nov 2023.

Wine Advocate 92+. The 2020 Selección comes from a cooler year with enough rain and no stress in the vineyards, when they achieved a medium-bodied red with 14% alcohol and pH of 3.88. It is harmonious, balanced and elegant, with a medium-bodied palate and a velvety mouthfeel through its fine tannins. It reminds me of the classical reds from the zone before excess arrived. Classical Ribera with character, rusticity and elegance. 34,570 bottles produced. It was bottled in September 2021. #MAY