Spain

97 Points! The 2013 Reserva Viña Tondonia is a blend of 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha and 10% Graciano and Mazuelo, grown in the calcareous soils of the Tondonia meander in Rioja Alta. Aged extensively in American oak, it offers restrained black fruit, wild herbs, balsamic hints and sweet spices with gentle cedar and vanilla notes. Medium-bodied with chalky grip and a layered, tertiary finish, this is a benchmark classic—refined, enduring and unmistakably Tondonia. - Joaquin Hidalgo, Vinous

95 Points! The canonical red 2013 Viña Tondonia Reserva has a developed nose of dried roses and tar that transported me to Piamonte but soon took me back to the López de Heredia cellars in Haro with the mixture of mushrooms, truffles, damp earth and decayed leaves, hints of brick dust and spice. 2013 was a rainy year, with 753 liters of it, well above the average of 530 liters in Haro. It was also a cooler year, and the ripeness was slow, so they didn't start picking until the seventh of October, but they had to hurry up because of the risk of botrytis. The crop was not so big, because they suffered from hail in July that affected the Viña Tondonia, coupled with strong winds that broke many branches. The breakdown in 2013 comes to 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacho and 5% each Graciano and Mazuelo that fermented in old oak vats with indigenous yeasts. All the wines age in old American oak barrels in their caves, in this case for no less than six years. It comes in at 13% alcohol with a pH of 3.4 and 6.6 grams of acidity, perhaps a lighter vintage with higher acidity that translates into a lot of energy, a fine-boned palate and very fine tannins with a vibrant finish... It should be released in the spring of 2025, almost 12 years after the harvest. And look at the price... - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

95 Points! Very pale in colour yet surprisingly concentrated for a wine of such light hue, delivering lots of delicate red berries and an ample palate with plenty of fleshy fruit and texture. The 100% Garnacha fruit is sourced from 70- to 90-year-old vines on several plots at 600m-750m. Only half of the free-run must is used, fermented plot by plot in small oak vats, with the wine remaining on its lees for at least four months before a final selection and blend is made. Wonderfully elegant with stony minerality, this is seamless, fruity and refined, with a very moreish finish. A really clear definition of the region. - Decanter Magazine

94 Points! The top rosé is also extremely young. The 2025 Flor de Muga Rosado was produced with the direct pressing of Garnacha grapes from the Najerilla and Oja valleys, grapes that usually ripen but keep a pale red color and are not suitable for red wines. It fermented in small oak vats, where it was kept with fine lees and bâtonnage for four months. This is even paler and certainly subtler, more elegant and complex than the regular rosé. It comes in at a lower 13.5% alcohol, keeping very good freshness, reflected by a pH of 3.27 and 6.2 grams of acidity. It's balanced and subtle, really elegant and more delicate, with more freshness. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

99 Points! The 2016 Único was perfumed and elegant, showcasing a very good vintage in the region. Winemaker Gonzalo Iturriaga started in 2015—a powerful year—and he remembers 2016 as a very balanced year, with higher yields and finer-boned wines. The winter was mild, and there was a cooler than average spring and a warm summer. September was dry, which provided healthy grapes and balanced ripening. The harvest started the 22nd of September and finished the 11th of October. The bottled wine is 96% Tinto Fino and 4% Cabernet Sauvignon with 14.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.82 and 4.8 grams of acidity. It has the old Vega perfume, intoxicating, complex and nuanced, full of personality and a very energetic palate, vibrant and fresh, not lacking power but with lots of elegance. The wine is released 10 years after the harvest, combining time in new and used American and French oak barrels and 20,000-liter oak vats, and it obviously spends plenty of time in bottle. This is a monumental vintage of Único. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

95 Points! They adjusted the picking dates, and the 2022 Camino de Auritz sees a jump in freshness and elegance, finishing with a full 1% less alcohol than the 2021 (this has 13.5%). It's Garnacha from two old plots of 0.22 and 0.1 hectares on limestone soils at 450-plus meters above sea level, where they found some plants of Garnacha Gris. It fermented with 50% full clusters and indigenous yeasts (including malolactic) and matured in used French oak barrels for 11 months. This is a big jump in quality from the previous year. Unfortunately, there are only 874 bottles of this wine. It was bottled in August 2024. The wine is harmonious and approachable but should also age nicely in bottle. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

95 Points! The red blend 2023 Anza was produced with Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano, Malvasía, Calagraño, Viura and Moscatel grapes from the zones of Laguardia and Elvillar, produced in a fresh and direct style with no makeup. It fermented with some stems by plot and zones and matured in used 500-liter barrels and oak vats of different sizes for 12 months. They had 568 liters of rain in 2023, which also saw mild temperatures, save for a 12-day heat wave at the end of August, followed by a rainy September and October. The wine is clean, open, aromatic and nuanced. None of the reds show any aromatic influence from the wood. It has a contained 13.5% alcohol and a very balanced, medium-bodied and elegant palate, with very fine tannins. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

95 Points! The 2023 El Terroir is a village red from San Martín de Unx that was selected from six different vineyards that were harvested quite early, at the beginning of September. It fermented with full clusters, indigenous yeasts and a long maceration. It is slightly darker than La Dama, with more clout and some more tannins but all relative to La Dama, which is superlative, because outside that context, this would be super fragrant, elegant and subtle. It has container power, lots of energy and depth and a beautiful combination of wild berries, herbs and flowers. It has a fine-boned, medium-bodied palate and good balance. It has contained ripeness and around 13.5% alcohol. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

95 Points! Aromas of limes, white nuts, green apples, savory seaweed and seashells. So delicious, with a creamy, nutty touch and a savory, lightly saline finish. Nori at the end. Really long and intellectual. Viura aged in Sherry butts. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

93+ Points! The 2021 Monopole Clásico Reserva comes from a cooler year with a long cycle and was produced with grapes that were picked on October 7 and 8, fermented in stainless steel, then matured in oak barrels and Sherry casks of different sizes—300, 400 and 500 liters—where it matured for eight months and managed to grow a veil of flor yeasts in the butts filled with the wine. Still pale and young but with incipient complexity, it has a very spicy nose with notes of esparto grass, hints of pollen and cereals. It's fresh and comes in at 13.38% alcohol, with a pH of 3.26 and 5.61 grams of acidity, meaning balance and freshness. It has depth, complexity and character, with more freshness and acidity and some grip, showing more of the character of the vintage. It's very tasty and ends with a very pleasant bitter twist in the finish. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

96 Points! Juicy, ripe, plummy fruit with a spicy wood touch and a hint of citrus. Assertive and fine-grained with medium to full body. Excellent tannins are nicely woven and integrated with the fruit. Long finish. La Hoya stands out in this challenging vintage. 95% tempranillo and 5% viura. Sand and silt soils on an east-facing slope. 3.3 hectares. From organically grown grapes. - JamesSuckling.com

95 Points! The bottled version of the 2023 La Hoya feels quite serious and harmonious. It spent its first winter in 500- and 600-liter barrels and the second one in a 4,000-liter oak foudre. The nose is quite subtle and a little shy, with finesse. The top part of the plot is sandy, and the lower part has more silt; the combination gives the wine fruit and structure. It also has a lot of limestone and comes through as very balanced too. It's medium-bodied and really fine-boned. This is now showing much better than anticipated. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

97+ Points! The bottled 2023 San Lázaro, from the 1.62 hectares of vines they have, shows contained ripeness and has 14.4% alcohol. This is always more restrained, and there's no exuberance here; there's subtleness, finesse and verticality. It has a spicy side, with notes reminiscent of curry, a little à la Vosne-Romanée, a little cinnamon perhaps, but with the Tempranillo austerity, of course. The palate is medium-bodied, with great balance and super fine and elegant tannins. The wine is a little closed at the moment, but it should grow with time in bottle. It's really good and challenges El Carretil this year. I give it the edge—perhaps because it is the more approachable of the 2023s. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

95 Points! The 1981 Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva has a vibrant nose reminiscent of coeval Burgundy, with scents of citrus peel, orange rind, singed leather and a Tuscan delicatessen. The palate has a penetrating orange peel and tart cherry entry with potent earthy notes at its core. It is supremely well-balanced with an energetic finish underpinned by crisp dry tannins. This wonderful Rioja is drinking perfectly now and will age effortlessly. - Neal martin, robertparker.com

95 Points! The pale and delicate red 2023 Ollos de Maia, made with 40% each Brancellao and Caíño Longo and 20% Zamarrica (a.k.a. Caíño da Terra), was produced with a very long maceration. It's perfumed, aromatic and elegant, with notes of dried rose petals and wild herbs and is fine-boned and elegant palate with very fine tannins and great balance and harmony. It's really impressive, clean, focused and precise. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

95 Points! Magnificent black cherry, tea leaf, cocoa and violet perfume. Elegant, round and silky on the palate, with ripe polished tannins, amazing structure and nicely-integrated oak. Fruit-driven and persistent finish. - Decanter World Wine Awards

93 Points! They consider the 2023 La Servil a paraje wine, despite coming from a large vineyard with different soils. It's always a floral and expressive red, and in a year of low yields, the larger size of the grapes compensated and gave the wines more texture and more tension, resulting in a subtle and fine vintage for the reds. It fermented completely destemmed and matured in foudre for 18 months, as they are extending the time in oak for all their wines (the 2024s will be two years). All the 2023 reds are around 14% alcohol, but they're very balanced and fine-boned. In this case, it showcases the sandy, elegant soils that resulted in finer tannins. All the reds are very pure, fresh and mineral, with a strong stony sensation. I think there is more elegance this year. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

99 Points! The red 2023 Kalamity is stunning, in line with the wine produced in 2021. It's a wine first produced in 2014 from a field blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha, Viura and Garnacha Blanca from very old vines in Elvillar, Laguardia and Camprovín harvested relatively early to avoid excess alcohol and to keep the acidity. The grapes were part destemmed, part crushed and part fermented with full clusters in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts. The wine matured in 600-liter oak barrels for 10 months. Like most 2023s, it has contained ripeness and lowish alcohol, 13.5%, and a balanced pH of 3.5. Tartalo has been getting close, but I still believe this is the most complex, nuanced and complete of the reds here, perfumed and elegant. It's still young but already very harmonious, with a medium-bodied palate, super fine tannins and superb balance. This could very well be the finest Kalamity to date. It's approachable even at this young age, but it should also develop and get even better with time in bottle. 3,200 bottles were filled in September 2024. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

96 Points! Even more outstanding than the 2020, the incredibly priced 2021 Reserva is young in boisterous blue fruit, with a generous, full-bodied palate of richness and upfront power. The tannins add length and breadth to the wine, which is tasting great and could go another 10-15 years. - Virginie Boone, jebdunnuck.com

96 Points! Elegant yet perfectly structured, this is the most floral of the Murrieta Reservas I’ve tasted in recent years. With 8% Graciano and 4% Mazuelo, the nose is perfumed with pretty rose petal and delicate red berry fruit, as well as wild herbal aromas. Blueberry fruit typical of Tempranillo directs the palate, rounded out with a little fleshy Garnacha, and framed by subtle American oak. It offers immediate appeal but will age gracefully for many years to come. - Decanter Magazine

95 Points! Their flagship wine comes from one of the finest vintages in recent times. The 2021 Marqués de Murrieta was previously called the Reserva and still qualifies as such, but it's not included in the name now. It was produced with 86% Tempranillo, 8% Graciano, 4% Mazuelo and 2% Garnacha Tinta from their 300 hectares of vines in their Ygay estate on limestone and clay soils with alluvial influence. The grapes were picked between the 27th of September and the 15th of October, and each plot and variety was vinified separately in stainless steel, matured in American oak barrels for 26 months, then blended and kept in concrete for a few months until bottling, which was a longer élevage this year. It's very spicy, peppery, with a combination of berry fruit and some incipient tertiary aromas, hints of forest floor and truffle. It's very Rioja, with clout, elegance and freshness and the elegant tannins that are the signature of 2021. It comes in at 14.3% alcohol with a pH of 3.6, denoting ripeness and balance. It's delicious, fresh and available. Bravo! - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

100 Points! I was very much looking forward to the 2004 Viña Tondonia Blanco Gran Reserva, the next vintage of this wine after the spectacular 2001. 2004 was a perfect climate year. This is a developed white that was matured in well-seasoned, neutral American oak barrels for 10 years in their old caves, where the wine gets pungent aromas of mushrooms, pollen, beeswax, white pepper, kerosene, cereals and something herbal (celery and even asparagus) that reminded me of the 1964. The palate is velvety and dry and super tasty, with a salty twist in the finish. It's still a baby even after years in bottle. This should age superbly in bottle. I think this is slightly better than the 2001, one of the freshest and most elegant vintages for this bottling. Bravo! - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

95 Points! The 2014 Viña Bosconia is 80% Tempranillo with 10% Garnacha, 5% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo from the El Bosque vineyard in Haro, Rioja. Garnet in hue, it opens with cassis, cola and oak-driven aromas. The palate is youthful and smooth, with well-integrated tannins, black fruit and anisette at the finish. Still growing, it’ll develop greater complexity with more time in bottle. - Joaquin Hidalgo, Vinous

94+ Points! I loved the nose of the 2014 Viña Bosconia Reserva, a red that sells at an incredible price for the quality, the problem is (like all their wines) finding it... They had to accelerate the harvest to avoid botrytis caused by the abundant rain during the harvest. This is a blend of 80% Tempranillo, 15% Garnacho and the remaining 5% Graciano and Mazuelo, fermented in old oak vats with their yeasts and matured in neutral American oak barrels for no less than five years. It's elegant and nuanced, developed but young for its age, with a seamless palate and very fine tannins, with energy and light. It has 13.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.3 and 6.7 grams of acidity, notable parameters of freshness. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

95 Points! A suave red, lightly mouthwatering and enticing, with a generous range of ripe black raspberry and black currant fruit and blood orange peel, plus accents of dark chocolate, roasted vanilla, cigar box, herbs and spices. The muscular tannins are limber and well-integrated in feel as they power the profile through the long, fragrant finish. Cabernet Sauvignon and Monastrell. - Wine Spectator

95 Points! Burnished with plums, mulberries, cherries and plums embraced by a casing of generous vanilla oak and creamy texture, with scores of chalky tannins and a tobacco length. - Decanter World Wine Awards

95 Points! From 97% Tempranillo, the rest Merlot and Albillo Mayor, the 2021 Reserva spent 28 months in French oak barrel and has quite a bit of toastiness on the palate. The tannins are smoothened and round, with a hint of chalkiness and grip. From a sizable percentage of old-vine grapes, it has an ethereal freshness and full-bodied layers of dark berry, leather, anise, and dried herb. It should offer 15-20 years more of aging. - Virginie Boone, jebdunnuck.com

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