Wines

93+ Points! The 2020 Cuvée Las Santas was produced from a number of small plots at higher altitudes and cooler expositions (north), only Garnacha, small plots. It has some Mediterranean, Châteauneuf-like character (cherries in liqueur, Mediterranean herbs) with 14% alcohol, very good acidity and very fine grained tannins. They fermented it with 50% full clusters and matured it in used French oak barrels for nine months. This is the wine they produce in the style they like, a more personal wine from special plots. 1,423 bottles were filled in March 2022.  - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

94 Points! I love the pale, floral and delicate 2021 Kauten. This wine is the reason they started in the zone of Olite. The wine is elegant and ethereal. They do a soft extraction and only use half of the skins for the fermentation (50% of the clusters were pressed directly and the juice put in the fermentation vessel). They were worried because it's from a 20-year-old vineyard and they didn't want to extract much. They age it in used barrels for five months. The wine has 13.5%, and it's very approachable and expressive, with notes of sous bois, a vibrant palate and great freshness. Amazing wine and superb value. This is expressive, pure, deep and very satisfying. It should also age well. 1,246 bottles were filled in August 2022. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

94 Points! A juicy and transparent grenache noir with aromas of strawberries, cherries, stones, iodine and some spices, too. It’s medium-bodied with fine tannins. It’s crunchy and full of vitality and energy on the palate. Vertical and not hiding anything with a precise, vibrant finish with some peppery notes. From organically grown grapes. Drink now or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

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 approachable La Bruja, expressive, open and more fruit-driven, more in a Morgon style. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

From the winery: We are tremendously fortunate - on many levels - to have known and worked with George Besson Jr. and his exceptional vineyards for twenty years. George's late father, George Sr. purchased the grenache vineyard and farmhouse just after WWII on a gently north-facing rocky slope. These non-irrigated vines, planted on their own roots in 1910, sit a short distance from the start of the Santa Cruz Mountains, but several dozen feet too low to qualify for the appellation. Walking through the vines with George, one senses his deep affection and respect for the land and the vines, and his belief in man's subordinate role to nature in determining the ultimate quality of the grapes grown there. As a consequence of the age of the vines, the lack of irrigation, and the conservative farming practices, the quantity of grapes grown there is quite small - rarely if ever over 2 tons/acre.

93 Points! A lovely garnacha with sweet blue fruit, fine spices and some flowers. Taut and juicy with tight but polished tannins. Lots of flavors, but not hefty. On the contrary, this is nimble and elegant. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

97 Points! There is a new superb pure Giró from old vines, from the upper two terraces of the Abargues property, first produced in the perfect Mediterranean vintage of 2020. The 2020 Fierroca takes the name from two words, "fierro"( which means iron) and "roca" (which means rock"), the components of the soils here. The grapes have less color but lots of grip, and the wine is floral, elegant, terribly balanced, tasty and ripe without excess, with a velvety texture and long, pure fresh and fine flavors. This is amazing! It matured in two 500-liter French oak barrels for 10 months. 1,300 bottles were filled in August 2021. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

From the importer: Bush-trained Cannonau (also known as Grenache) from a vineyard called Sas de Melas, at 600 meters (about 2,000 feet) above sea level, near the village of Mamoiada. This altitude is unusual for red wines, and gives the wine uncommon freshness (cooler night-time temperatures at altitude mean higher acidity in the grapes). The vines were planted in 2004 and 2010 in soil based on decomposed granite.

The grapes are picked in late September or early October, de-stemmed and crushed, and fermentation begins using indigenous yeasts only, encouraged by a a ‘pied de cuve'* (Luca believes that cultured yeasts don’t give a wine that truly is representative of place.) The wine is left in contact with the skins for 10-12 days, then pressed off. The wine is aged for about 6 months in stainless steel tanks, lightly fined, then bottled without filtration.

91 Points! Aromas of ripe cherries, vanilla, plums, wild strawberries, flowers and white pepper. It’s medium-bodied with generous strawberries and silky tannins. Fruity palate with a slight sweetness that makes it more approachable. Vegan. Drink now. - JamesSuckling.com

91 Points! The very young and juicy 2020 Evodia comes from a year with more rain than average and moderately warm temperatures that resulted in an early harvest of a generous crop that delivered wines of lower alcohol (14.5%) and more freshness. It fermented with some 20% full clusters and had a very soft vinification and extraction with no pump-overs. This is always very aromatic (it's what the name means), and in 2020 it's even paler and more ethereal then the 2019 that was already impressive and quite a change from previous vintages and other wines from the cooperative. Only 20% of the volume matured in oak and the wine is not oaky at all and has contained ripeness and very light extraction. This is bright and elegant, fresh and very pleasant to drink. Incredible for the price. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

96-98 Points! The more backward of the 2021s was the 2021 Finca Dofí, which was very primary and smelled almost like the fermentation vessels, and it took time in the glass to open up. The blend is higher in Garnacha and they couldn't use the Picapoll, as it didn't work well that cool year, so it's 90% Garnacha, 9% Cariñena and 1% white grapes. It achieved 14.5% alcohol but kept better freshness than in 2020, a constant in the 2021 wines. Very promising. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

This is old vine Garnacha from vineyards that are all at least 100 years old that are in the Jiloca River valley south of Zaragoza. The “Unexpected” theme is that all the vineyards used for this wine had been abandoned for a long time and had been unexpectedly found only through the surprise of finding such old vineyards in remote places in the Jiloca valley. There are rich dark fruit aromas such as dark cherries, dark plums, blackberries, and boysenberries along with interesting hints of dark chocolate, heirloom roses, and some smoky accents from the schist beneath the vineyards. Flavors include rich dark plums, dark cherries, and boysenberries, along with hints of nectarines. There is a medium to full body, perfect balance and acidity, and a lush full finish.

92 Points! Aromas of red berries, earth and undergrowth. It’s medium-bodied with velvety tannins. Harmonious and supple on the mid-palate with a silky and transparent character towards the crunchy and vibrant finish. Drink now. - JamesSuckling.com

91 Points! The 2020 +Altitud is a regional Garnacha from the villages of Navatalgordo, Navalmoral de la Sierra, Navarredondilla, Burgohondo and Villanueva de Ávila. It has 13.62% alcohol and a low pH of 3.32, denoting freshness. It fermented in concrete, oak vat and stainless steel, depending on the paraje, or plot, with around 50% full clusters. Then it matured in concrete and tinaja, except for 20% that aged in used 500-liter French oak barrels, for 14 months. It has a floral and perfumed nose with red berry and herbal aromas, imperceptible oak, a medium-bodied palate and fine-grained tannins with the granularity of the granite. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

This fusion of Grenache and Pinot Noir delivers aromas and flavors of strawberry, gingerbread, almond, cinnamon and heirloom rose.

From the winery: We night harvested by hand, nine tons of Grenache from the Old Potrero Vineyard located in Arroyo Grande Valley along the San Luis Obispo Coast. This vineyard is a non-irrigated sandy soil site that produces Grenache with intense flavors.

95 Points! The 2015 Grenache Old Vines 1850 is the current vintage. "They need time," says Marco Cirillo. This is initially very fresh in the mouth, but as the wine travels over the tongue, it carries ironstone and ferrous. It’s very light (both in color and weight), and it’s alive. The tail of flavor through the finish is drawn by pumice stone tannins and chewy phenolics. It’s impressively light framed. It matured in tank for five years prior to bottling. One-third of the blend goes into wood post-ferment for six to 10 months. At least 50% of the wine sees no oak whatsoever. The oak is old and very large. We, the drinkers, have very few reference points for aging wines like this. - Erin Larkin, robertparker.com