Spain

95 Points! An aromatic charge of smoky herbals amid a ripe peach and apricot redolence. Broad and generous with a silty, saline acidity carrying the long finish. - Decanter World Wine Awards

92 Points! Brine with lime aromas as well as dried herbs. Medium- to full-bodied, fresh and incisive, with a touch of fruit and salinity. Nervy finish. - JamesSuckling.com

The Eguren family produces Protocolo, one of the world's best value wines, from vineyards in Manchuela, Rioja, and Toro. They lease vineyards on long term contracts from farmers in Manchuela who grow Tempranillo on the limestone rich soils at high altitudes in this southeastern corner of Spain. The oldest vineyards are 35 years old, grown sustainably, and dry farmed. These conditions reduce yields and result in incredibly balanced but fruit forward Tempranillo. The Eguren family also blends 10-15% of the wine with young estate grown vineyards in Rioja and Toro, which are planted with massal selections from the family's best estate grown plots. For the first 10-15 years of these vineyards' lives, they are used for Protocolo before they graduate into the estate wines of Rioja and Toro.

The vineyards lie on the initial slopes of the Iberian System, where altitude, stony soils, and a stark continental climate—scorching summers, frigid winters, and the fierce, dry north wind known as the Cierzo—naturally limit yields and concentrate flavor in Garnacha. Cariñena, in Aragón’s Ebro Valley, is one of Spain’s historic wine heartlands: viticulture here predates the Romans, the town was established as a Roman settlement around 50 BC, and the region was officially recognized as a Denominación de Origen in 1932, making it one of the country’s earliest protected appellations. Today, Garnacha is the dominant grape, and many vineyards—often bush-pruned old vines—sit on poor, rocky soils and endure hot days and cold nights, conditions that drive phenolic ripeness while preserving the grape’s naturally vibrant acidity and spicy, red-fruited profile.

The grapes are destemmed and fermented with wild yeasts in temperature-controlled stainless steel. The wine rests on the lees for about seven months without racking. The cold climate naturally calrifies the wine which is bottled with only a slight filtration needed.

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