Red

#53 on The Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2022.

94 points Wine Spectator
Well-tailored in an understated way, this harmonious red is plushly creamy on the palate, like fine cashmere, showing seamless integration of the sculpted tannins with finely detailed flavors of black cherry and black plum reduction, sandalwood, cedar, green olive, espresso crema and minerally smoke and iron. Long and lightly juicy on the refined finish. Tempranillo, Graciano, Mazuelo and Garnacha. Drink now through 2030

97 points Wine Advocate
The most classical of their wines, the 2015 Prado Enea Gran Reserva is a blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano, mostly from Rioja Alta (Sajazarra, Cellorigo and Fonzaleche), but the Garnacha is from different plots in the zone of Tudelilla at high altitude. These grapes are always picked last, but the wine has a similar alcohol level as the rest, around 14.5% in a warm year like 2019. The modus operandi is similar to other of the top cuvees?harvested into 200-kilogram boxes, destemming, optical sorting and fermentation in small oak casks with indigenous yeasts. The elevage in this case is extended to 36 months, and the barrels are only 10% new. This is, year in, year out, my favorite wine from Muga, and in this powerful and ripe year, these late-harvesting vines ripened thoroughly and delivered a full array of aromas and flavors so that the wine has plenty of depth and complexity. It has a very classical profile, with incipient tertiary notes, perfumed, floral and rich, textured and beautifully balanced. They compare this 2015 with 2009 and 2005 in terms of style but with freshness in the style of 2001 and 2010. It's enjoyable but should also develop for a long time in bottle. One of the finest Prado Enea vintages. 108,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in November 2018. There's no 2012 or 2013 of this. There will be a 2016 and 2019, but no 2017 or 2018. 2020 is still a question mark, they have not yet decided it.

97 points James Suckling
Reserved and polished, this is a Prado Enea with great class and focus. It’s so aromatic,with plum, peach, cherry and cedar character. Salted olives, too. Medium-to full-bodied with very fine tannins and a long, fresh finish. Elegance with power here. Give it three or four years to open, but already impressive.

#9 on The Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines Of 2025

95 points Wine Spectator
Deep, dark and densely wrought, featuring black cherry, blackberry, violet, iron and tobacco aromas and flavors. The sinewy tannins are enhanced by the vivid acidity, and everything comes together on the crystalline aftertaste, which echoes the fruit and floral elements. Power meets finesse. Sangiovese and Merlot.

99 points James Suckling
This is really perfumed and gorgeous, with black cherries, blackcurrants and violets. Full-bodied with totally integrated tannins and a palate presence that is pretty spectacular. Wonderful finish. Give this three or four years.

95 points Wine Advocate
This wine represents a selection of the best Sangiovese sourced from various plots with a tiny addition of Merlot and Malvasia Nera. The Castello di Ama 2021 Chianti Classico Gran Selezione San Lorenzo takes a few extra moments to open in the glass, but unlike the La Casuccia that holds back, this wine comes into full view quickly enough. The wine's flavor profile is a little meatier and fuller, and this could be linked to the warm vintage conditions. San Lorenzo is a generous wine, and it is a bottle you can enjoy in the medium or long term.

#9 on The Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines Of 2025

95 points Wine Spectator
Deep, dark and densely wrought, featuring black cherry, blackberry, violet, iron and tobacco aromas and flavors. The sinewy tannins are enhanced by the vivid acidity, and everything comes together on the crystalline aftertaste, which echoes the fruit and floral elements. Power meets finesse. Sangiovese and Merlot. Best from 2028 through 2050.

"Renieri is an excellent producer of Brunello." - Monica Larner of Wine Advocate

96 points James Suckling
This is a very tight, refined Brunello that shows so much beautiful fruit and polish with dark-berry, cedar, walnut and cherry character. Its full-bodied with layers of fine tannins and a fresh, pretty finish. Needs much more time to open.

94 points Wine Advocate
"The Renieri 2016 Brunello di Montalcino is a plush, fruit-forward and accessible wine that captures the purity and elegance of the vintage. The best take-away, however, is the fresh, ready and bright state of this wine that makes it almost ready to enjoy straight out of the gate. This Brunello from a nine-hectare plot with limestone clay soils offers bold cherry and blackberry with delicate spice, smoke and blue flower. The wine is marked by balanced acidity, and there is some tannic tightness that should further relax by the time this wine hits the market at the start of 2021.

.

The Far Niente Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon opens with an elegant perfume of mixed berries, baking spice, dried lavender and thyme open onto a full palate layered with expansive mixed berry, black tea, toasted oak and spice flavors. Focused and fresh, fine-grained tannins support the wine throughout, while the finish is silky, long and lifted. - Winery

#13 on The Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines of 2025

96 points Wine Spectator
This delivers an energetic tumble of blackberry, boysenberry and black currant paste flavors injected with bramble and apple wood and supported by a licorice snap accent. The strapping finish is laced with violet and iris notes, while a cast iron edge lends bass. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2027 through 2045.

96 points James Suckling
The aromas of blackcurrants and dried flowers with fresh herbs like basil and rosemary are extremely attractive. Medium- to full-bodied, this has firm and velvety tannins with a tension and focus that I have not seen for a while. Long and chewy finish. Solid. Drink after 2028 and beyond.

"Probably the best wine that has come from this estate, along with their 2005, the final blend of 59% Cabernet Sauvignon, 38% Merlot and the rest Petit Verdot boasts Michel Rolland as the consulting oenologist. This organically farmed vineyard has turned out a deeply layered wine with a striking perfume of graphite, wet stones, red and black currants, tobacco leaf and underbrush. The compelling aromatics are followed by a medium-bodied but intensely concentrated wine with loads of ripe fruit, plenty of glycerin (14% natural alcohol) and a long, nuanced, impressively endowed finish. Accessible already, this wine should continue to drink well for 15 or more years." 92+pts WA

94 points Decanter
Classically 'old-fashioned' Rioja that has stuck to its 1877 roots. Fine natural warmth and smooth, slightly nutty flavours, lots of controlled energy and a firm finish. A really lovely wine. (12/2018)

94 points Vinous
Vibrant, spice-tinged red currant and cherry aromas are complemented by suggestions of pipe tobacco, vanilla and incense, and a spicy nuance gains volume with air. Sweet and seamless on the palate, offering energetic red fruit and spicecake flavors that pick up a hint of smokiness on the back half. Concentrated yet lively, showing impressive delineation and a sexy floral quality on the extremely long, seamless finish. While this wine is quite seductive right now, I've little doubt that it will cruise along nicely for at least another decade or more, and probably quite a bit longer. (2/2019)

Organic / Biodynamic

#10 on The Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines Of 2025

94 points Wine Spectator
Supple and mouthfilling, with silky tannins upholding cherry, plum and pretty lavender notes. Grilled garrigue plays out on the finish, which shows sneaky length and elegance. Seductive in feel, with impressive energy, too, for a balanced, harmonious impression. Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Mourvedre. Drink now through 2040.

Isabel Ferrando has drawn attention since her debut 2003 vintage. Despite being a newcomer to the region, leaving a career in finance to learn winemaking, she has become a leading face of Chateauneuf-du-Pape??????s modern era. Fans know her wines under the Domaine St.-Prefert label, but in 2020 she began a new chapter, changing the name to Famille Isabel Ferrando. Joined by daughter Guillemette, she returned to the Chateauneuf tradition of blending her vineyard parcels into a single cuvee. Sourced from Ferrando??????s original holdings in the Les Serres lieu-dit planted to Grenache, Cinsault and Mourvedre in the hottest, driest part of the appellation, it??????s a wine of elegance and freshness.

This is a very bold style of Pinot Noir, so much that it's not very reflective of the grape but would work well paired with a juicy grilled steak. Concentrated aromas of blackberry, maple syrup and hot pancakes lead into a viscous, thick palate of berry jam, clove and cardamom flavors.

Winemaker Notes:
"Caymus has a signature style that is dark in color, with rich fruit and ripe, velvety tannins - as approachable in youth as in maturity. We farm Cabernet grapes in eight of Napa?????s 16 sub-appellations, with diversification enabling us to make the best possible wine in a given year. Our Cabernet offers layered, lush aromas and flavors, including cocoa, cassis and ripe dark berries."

Organic

#37 on The Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines Of 2025

94 points Wine Spectator
Precise and detailed, with a slightly brooding core that propels its dark cherry and raspberry flavors, which are accented by blood orange and spiced tea tones as this gathers tension and tannins on the finish. Drink now through 2035

93 points James Suckling
An amalgam of redcurrant and blackcurrant aromas with cedary and leafy tones, dark berries and pepper and plenty of oak strut. The palate has a deep vein of black-fruit flavors, as well as plum and chocolate. Bold extract. A blend of Padthaway, Coonawarra, Wrattonbully, McLaren Vale and Barossa Valley. Drink now.

95 pts Wine Advocate
The red flagship 2006 Viña Tondonia Reserva was inspired by the vineyards of the Médoc but produced with local grapes, 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacho, 5% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo, which achieved 13% alcohol in 2006. It always matures in used American oak barriques for some six years. The oldest of all the reds I tasted, it was also the one with more freshness, which speaks to the quality of the vineyard. This takes the lion's share of the 400,000 bottles the winery produces, with some 220,000 bottles filled over a period of 12 consecutive days in May 2014.

94 points Wine Advocate
I tasted two vintages of the Gran Reserva from Haro, starting with the 2017 Imperial Gran Reserva from a warm and dry year whose yields were lowered by frost in late April and was saved by rains at the end of July. It's 85% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo with 14% alcohol, a pH of 3.65 and 5.31 grams of acidity. It fermented in small oak vats followed by malolactic in concrete and aging in French (70%) and American oak barrels for two years, during which time the wine was racked every eight months. It's evolving at a slightly faster pace and maybe it's a little lighter, but I didn't feel the heat, which is quite something. It's drinking well. 75,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in July 2020.

94 points Vinous
The 2017 Gran Reserva Imperial blends 85% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo from Villalba in Rioja Alta. Aged for 24 months in oak barrels (two-thirds French, one-third American), it's a dark garnet red. The 2017 reveals alluring aromas of sour cherry, blackberry and hints of mint, all set against an oak backdrop. Dry and concentrated, it finishes powerfully, achieving significant nuance for a ripe year in Rioja.

94 points The Wine Advocate
Black olives and a hint of black bean puree to the fresh black cherries, damsons and a hint of mint. Refined, medium-bodied palate with fine, fresh tannins that are present but not grainy. Really elegant and long. Drinkable now, but will develop well in the next six to seven years.

94 points Wine Spectator
A dynamic blend, combining deep structure with finesse and polish, this features black cherry and cassis flavors laced with toasty spice, red licorice and a hint of dusty herbs as it builds tension toward refined tannins. Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot. Drink now through 2030

Organic / Biodynamic

95 points Vinous
The 2022 Chiesamonti is stellar. Chiesamonti is often marked by slightly coarse tannins. In 2022, intense summer heat amplified the fruit, yielding an especially showy, racy edition of the Chiesamonti. Plush contours wrap around a core of dark red/purplish fruit, blood orange, rose petal, lavender and spice. Readers will have a hard time keeping their hands off this wine. And why should they? This is pure and total seduction.

94 points Wine Advocate
Made with Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, the Tenuta San Guido 2022 Guidalberto gives you a good taste of the same DNA that brings us one of Italy's greatest wines, Sassicaia, but it's offered in a more immediate style here (thanks to the addition of the Merlot). This warm vintage opens to medium-dark concentration and very plump aromas that take you immediately to blackberry and blackcurrant sitting out in the sun at your local farmers market. The wine shows a soft and gentle side with a pretty level of elegance transmitted through the fruit freshness and the light oak spice that is discernible here but delivered with grace???????????? Monica Larner,

98 points Jeb Dunnuck
Big, bold, and age-worthy, the 2019 Gran Reserva is the biggest production yet from the producer of this wine at 9,423 bottles. Salty and spicy, it’s voluminous, richly layered in concentrated, full-bodied swaths of sweet red berry, toasted oak, balsamic, and tobacco. After 40 months in French oak, the tannins are sweet and melty. It’s in a perfect spot right now but should continue to shine another 10-15 years at minimum.

Founded in the early 1990s by the Arzuaga Navarro family, the cellar stands near the Duero River, adorning a road as Castilian as the one connecting Soria and Valladolid. The building is an ode to stone, solid and rustic, forming arcades of monastic reminiscence, with towers at the sides and a belfry crowned by a weathercock at the centre. The stone in the outside and the warm elm wood inside welcome visitors, increasing the mood for special wines. Florentino Arzuaga, a great wine lover, founded Bodegas Arzuaga-Navarro after purchasing the Finca La Planta, an estate located in the town of Quintanilla de Onesimo (Valladolid), where the fauna and flora of the area coexist. With pines, oaks and Spanish cedars, wild boars and deer, Florentino realized the great potential of an estate large enough to have a horizon of its own. Then came the vines, the cellar and the wine-red wines as he liked them, with a backbone yet elegant, well-rounded yet complex. The spirit of the Arzuaga family combines an entrepreneurial tenacity with a sensibility for aesthetics and perfection.

97 points James Suckling
This is very ripe with blackberries, dried fruit, toasted oak and black licorice on the nose. Full-bodied with ultra-fine, linear tannins and a racy, refined finish. This has fantastic structure and length. It goes on for minutes. It needs time to open and refine even more. One of the best Imperial Gran Reservas in a very long time.

95 points Vinous
Deep, brilliant ruby. Offers sharply defined, mineral-inflected red and dark berries, cherry liqueur, pipe tobacco, vanilla and exotic spice scents. Chewy and penetrating in the mouth, offering concentrated black raspberry, bitter cherry, boysenberry and spicecake flavors that steadily become more lively on the back half. The strikingly persistent finish features polished tannins, repeating minerality and a touch of candied flowers.

Organic / Natural

95 points Vinous
The 2019 Rosso de Veo is intense, with a burst of dried black cherries, autumnal spices and rubbed sage. This is a dark and brooding vintage for Veo, with depths of ripe red and blue fruit propelled by zesty acidity. Saline minerals saturate, and a primary concentration forms toward the close. It finishes dramatically long and tannic, yet they are round and soft contoured. Licorice and a tart cranberry concentration linger on and on. While labeled as Umbria Rosso, the Rosso de Veo could easily be a Montefalco Sagrantino, filling a happy place in the portfolio that adds a lot of value for lovers of Paolo Bea.

94+ points Wine Advcate
Their second wine, the 2021 Epu is from the same terroir and vineyard in Puente Alto as Almaviva but comes from the younger vines, around 12 years on average. In 2021, the blend is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Carmenere and 5% Merlot (no Cabernet Franc this year). It has a ripe and heady nose, with 14.68% alcohol (15% on the label), mellow acidity and intense notes of red peppers, ripe blackberries and cassis and some spiciness from the oak. It matured for one year in French barriques, only 10% new and 90% second use. It has a little less structure and softer tannins, making it more approachable than previous years, a profile that seems to be the signature of the year. It's medium to full-bodied with velvety, more polished tannins, and it is more delicate and less concentrated, with more finesse. But I find these quite homogeneous and regular, this year with no raisins or dehydrated grapes, and in this vintage, it feels open and expressive.

94 points Wine Advocate
The 2018 Macan has moderate alcohol (14%) and more freshness (pH 3.69), reflecting a cooler and rainier year that forced them to fine-tune the sorting and selection of the grapes, which fermented with selected yeasts. The elevage was in barrel (55%) and larger foudres for 16 months. 2018 was quite different from 2019, as it was cooler and rainier. The wine is serious and harmonious, which was a challenge, and winemaker Gonzalo Iturriaga told me that they had to be very careful and sort and select the grapes. It's textured and elegant, a style that follows the path of the 2016; it's elegant but with depth, managing the elevage in foudre better, which was a learning process they started in 2016. 74,570 bottles, 2557 magnums and some larger formats produced. It was bottled in September 2020.

Organic

94 points Wine Advocate
As with La Canoca, the 2022 El Bardallo changes from a single-vineyard to a paraje (lieu-dit) wine and includes more plots in the same place to increase the volume of wine produced. It's Tempranillo with some 10% white grapes, mostly Viura. It fermented with some whole-cluster fruit and indigenous yeasts and matured in 500- and 600-liter barrels. It's quite fruit-driven, aromatic and reminiscent of the old carbonic-fermentation reds matured in barrel, juicy and velvety, with abundant, chalky tannins and a dry finish. 3,200 bottles were filled in September 2023.

Jose currently farms 5 hectares of vines located in the villages of San Vicente, Labastida, and Briones. Practices are manual and organic although he is not certified. The vines range in age from 5 to 130 years old with the majority Tempranillo, a small percentage of Viura. The oldest vineyard plots are co-planted with tiny percentages of other grape varieties which include Garnacha and Palomino. When the grapes reach the cellar after being harvested by hand, they are fermented either whole-cluster, or partially destemmed. All fermentations are by indigenous yeasts and extraction is gentle. After pressing the wines are racked into 225-300L French oak barrels and transported to the aging cellar in San Vicente.

Organic

95 points Wine Advocate
The 2020 Reserva was produced with a blend of 80% Tempranillo and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, a selection of two plots, mostly from the zone of El Picón below the winery where the soils are very white and rich in limestone and the Cabernet from the gravel and sandy soils. 2020 was a little warmer than 2021 but cooler than the following years, 2022 and 2023. This is always a very serious wine, and it has ripeness and 14.5% alcohol but very good balance and harmony, with enough freshness and acidity to come through as a powerful but elegant. The differences between this and the regular Hacienda Monasterio are basically the origin, the plots and a slightly higher percentage of Cabernet and perhaps a little more new oak (no more than 40%), because the Cabernet Sauvignon from Hacienda Monasterio takes the new oak very well compared with Tempranillo, because the grape ripens very well and integrates the oak very well. It is full-bodied, powerful and elegant, with stuffing and balance to develop nicely in bottle. 50,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in July 2023. Drink 2025-2035.

93 points Vinous
The 2022 Pinot Noir Cuvée Alyce shows the riper side of the year in its flavor profile, textural breadth and overall feel. Succulent dark cherry, plum, lavender, menthol and cloves fill out the layers, while polished tannins wrap it all together in style.

Organic / Biodynamic

This historic estate was established in 1834. Claude de Nicolay took over from her mother as winemaker in 1988 and crafts traditionally styled wines from one of the Cote d'Or's great terroirs, the hill of Corton and its surrounding villages. The vineyard management has been fully biodynamic since 2005 and organic since 1998. Claude's brother, Francois de Nicolay joined the domaine in 2001.

97 points Vinous
The 2023 Zinfandel Carlisle Vineyard is outrageously beautiful. Heady and explosive in the glass, the 2023 screams with character. Crushed berries, blood orange, mint, cinnamon, pomegranate and dried herbs all soar from the glass. This understated yet deeply expressive Zinfandel is quite simply lights-out. As always, a healthy amount of mixed blacks (13%) adds character.

98 points Wine Advocate
The eponymous red 2021 Clos has aromatic complexity and a beautiful texture has the Priorat, Mogador and Mediterranean character (wet slate, graphite, aromatic herbs) with more elegance and freshness. The tannins are also a lot more elegant, and the wine comes through as very balanced.

97 points James Suckling
A beautiful, fresh red with lots of vibrancy. Mineral, flint, freshly crushed blueberries and red berries. Juicy, polished tannins with a little more crunch to the fruit this year. Has a nice firmness compared with the sweeter tannins in 2020. Really fluid, bright and vivid. Long. Drink or hold.

97 points Vinous
The 2021 Clos Mogador?????? features liqueur-like aromas of blackcurrant and plum, along with earthy notes and hints of iron and blood. Dry and compact, it flows with fine-grained tannins, a dusty texture and a juicy, flavorful mouthfeel. The finish is exceptionally long, with nuanced complexity. This is one of those rare wines that can shift one's perception of what??????s possible in the Priorat region. Clos Mogador is one of the few wineries that put Priorat on the fine wine map in the early 1990s, and the 2021 vintage is yet another example that justifies that recognition.

Organic / Biodynamic

95 points Vinous
The 2010 Langoa-Barton has a very pure and quite intense bouquet with black cherries, blueberry and star anis aromas that are typically Langoa. The palate is medium-bodied with saturated tannins, impressive body and grip with a liquorice-tinged, saline finish that maybe just lacks a little flesh and needs more on the aftertaste. Tasted from an ex-chateau bottle at the BI Wines & Spirits 10-Year On tasting.

94 points Decanter
Lighter framed than Leoville, and while this is delicious, it is not quite at the level of its sibling. Not that anyone is going to complain, and this will be ready to crack out sooner. Opens up to show bramble berry fruits with confident tannins that provide a frame that is going to hold on tight for a good decade at least. Plenty of St-Julien character. Drinking Window 2020 - 2042.

94 points Wine Spectator
Tightly focused, with a beam of cassis and blackberry fruit framed by integrated espresso and charcoal notes. The ample structure drives the polished finish, allowing extra notes of plum sauce, pastis and blueberry coulis to stride through. Shows serious grip at the very end. Best from 2016 through 2035.

#12 On The Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wines Of 2024!

94 points Wine Spectator
Generous and impressive for its seamlessness, this is like a slice of Black Forest cake, offering chocolate and cherry flavors that are practically creamy and plush. Dutched cocoa powder, dried herb and cigar box nuances amplify this red on the long finish, with velvety tannins alongside hints of fresh loam and clove. Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. Drink now through 2036.

89-92 points Burghound
(85% from Vaumuriens-Haut and 15% from En Chiveau). This is quite firmly reduced and while the underlying fruit appears to be ripe it?????s difficult to read in this condition. Otherwise there is excellent punch to the chalky- textured and muscular medium weight flavors that conclude in a sleek, chiseled, linear and youthfully austere finish. This is an excellent Pommard villages with fine aging potential.

The Ferrando family has produced and traded wine for five generations. Ferrando Vini was founded in 1890 by Giuseppe Ferrando, who moved to Ivrea from Acqui to introduce the wines of Piedmont into the neighbouring region of Valle d????Aosta. Giuseppe????s son Luigi then expanded and developed the winemaking business. In 1957, Giuseppe Ferrando junior, the founder????s grandson, began production of one of the rarest wines obtained from the Nebbiolo variety: Carema, named after a small town in northern Piedmont, on the border with Valle d????Aosta. Here, in 1964, the Ferrando family built cellars for the production and ageing of this unique "mountain Barolo" (D.O.C. since 1967). In the early Eighties, Giuseppe????s son Luigi took over the company, which is currently owned by his son Roberto. The company????s creativity and inventiveness have been faithfully passed on through the generations, along with a steady commitment to quality.

This is one of the great wines of Italy, Luigi Ferrando????s 100% Nebbiolo di Carema called Etichetta Bianca. This is the benchmark wine of the appellation Carema. Produced exclusively from the Nebbiolo grape planted in a series of vineyards that sit beneath Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) in a broad amphitheater with full southern exposure overlooking the river, Dora Baltea, that runs from the snow-capped mountains south through the Valle d????Aosta into the northwestern range of Piedmont slicing the city of Ivrea in half. The vines are trained in a special way on pergola (known as ????tupin???? in local dialect) to obtain maximum exposure to the sun in this high altitude district and are planted to soils that are dominated by slate. The appellation of Carema is extremely small: only 16 hectares (approximately 40 acres) are planted to the vine. The Ferrando family controls 2.5 hectares of the appellation. The Nebbiolo grapes are harvested normally during the second half of October; then, they undergo a cuvaison of approximately two weeks in stainless steel before being racked into a mixture of large and small barrels for an extended aging period of 30 to 36 months before being bottled (without filtration). By law, the Carema cannot be released before four years of aging. Production of the Carema ????Etichetta Bianca???? is approximately 7200 bottles per annum, two-thirds of which (4800 bottles) comes to the States. A small quantity of magnums is bottled each year at our request as well. The Carema of Ferrando reveals the most elegant and delicate and complex characteristics of the Nebbiolo grape with a surprising capacity to age.

96 points James Suckling
Fresh blackberries, plums, smoked spices, graphite and cocoa powder. So juicy and firm, with fresh, abundant tannins coming from the fruit and spicy oak, but all woven in a fine-grained form, which clearly shows aging potential. Medium- to full-bodied with a very long finish. Try after 2026.

95+ points Wine Advocate
The 2018 Imperial Gran Reserva was cropped from a year with the weather from yesteryear, a cold winter with frost, snow and abundant rain, a cool spring and mild summer that resulted in a long vegetative cycle of 180 days and a late harvest between October 8th and 26th. It has similar parameters to the 2017 I tasted next to it, with 14% alcohol, a pH of 3.55 and 6.03 grams of acidity, but it shows fresher. It feels very complete, fresh and vibrant, with more depth and tannin. It's still quite young and should develop nicely in bottle with that extra kick from the cooler year.

96-98 points Wine Advocate
Deep purple-black colored, the 2020 La Gaffeliere gallops out of the glass with exuberant scents of crushed black plums, boysenberries and fresh blackberries, plus hints of eucalyptus, dark chocolate, crushed rocks and iron ore, with a waft of lavender. The medium to full-bodied palate shimmers with compelling energy, delivering layers of black and red berries with fantastic tension and finely grained tannins, finishing very long and wonderfully minerally

96-98 Vinous
The 2020 La Gaffeliere has an intriguing, complex nose, a melange of red and black fruit, cigar box, undergrowth and mint, quite mercurial in the glass as it opens with aeration. The palate is medium-bodied with lithe tannins, a beautiful seam of acidity and perhaps the most satin-like texture I have encountered on a young La Gaffeliere. It sashays to a harmonious and precise finish and lingers with wonderful mineralite. This is a magnificent prospect. -Neal Martin

96 points James Suckling
This is extremely linear and refined with a super-fine line of tannins running through the center of the wine. It??????s full-bodied, yet tight and sophisticated, with a long, long finish. Plenty of blackcurrant, dark chocolate, walnut and cedar in the aftertaste. Try after 2025.

Organic

96 points Wine Spectator
This is dense and full of cherry, raspberry, earth, iron and tobacco flavors. A broad base of sinewy tannins lends support, while the lively acidity drives the long aftertaste of red fruit. All of the components are there; this just needs time. Best from 2029 through 2047.

94 points Wine Advocate
The 2017 Viña Real Gran Reserva is a classical Rioja Alavesa blend of 95% Tempranillo with 5% Graciano from their own vineyards. It matured in new and used barrels for two years and was racked every four months and no less than three in bottle. It has 13.95% alcohol, a pH of 3.54 and six grams of acidity. This is a textbook Gran Reserva; perhaps this year it shows a faster evolution, with notes of olives, with hints of mint, ripe but with acidity. It has a polished palate with fine-grained tannins and a very pleasant tactile sensation. It's ready but should also last.