Penedes

93+ Points! The village 2021 Viñedos en San Vicente de la Sonsierra was produced with 75% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha and the rest white grapes, mostly Viura from vineyards in the middle and higher part of the village. It fermented partly with full clusters and matured 50/50 in concrete and 500- and 600-liter barrels in their cave. This feels quite serious, with ripeness and power, slowly revealing more elegant notes and some floral hints, with an earthy touch. It feels like the grapes ripened thoroughly in the longer cycle and developed plenty of nuances. It has 13.9% alcohol and is medium to full-bodied, serious and balanced, with the stuffing to develop in bottle. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

94 Points! There's also a village red from Labastida, of which I tasted two vintages. The 2021 Viñedos en Labastida is a blend of different plots with some 85% Tempranillo, 10% Garnacha and 5% white grapes fermented with indigenous yeasts and some whole clusters in search of balance and elegance. The wine matured in 500- and 600-liter oak foudres in their cold cave. This was my favorite of the village reds, with a perfumed and elegant nose, complex, deep and nuanced. It's serious, harmonious and with very fine tannins. It has medium ripeness and good balance. 3,600 bottles were filled in September 2022. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

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

95 Points! The 2021 Almirez, sourced from La Jara, Villabuena del Puente and Valdefinjas vineyards in Toro, was aged up to 14 months in oak barrels. Garnet in hue. Its ripe aromas feature plums, dried flowers, undergrowth, licorice and garrigue against a cedar backdrop. Dry and rich on the palate, the mild and balanced flow leads to a lasting, juicy, cherry-like finish. The 2021 is a nuanced Toro wine. - Joaquin Hidalgo, Vinous Media

95 Points! The 2021 Dominio de Anza Selección de Parcelas goes back to the elegance, perfume and refinement of the wines from 2018 and 2019—floral and clean. It comes from multiple places in different villages, all vinified separately in a year he found to be marked by the rain during the harvest. This has very good freshness. He used more full clusters this year, and the élevage was in 500-liter barrels and oak foudres. It's very attractive and easy to drink. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

94 Points! Dense and broad Viñas de Gain with impressive concentration and compact tannins that give gravity to the palate, showing fine rust to the fresh blackberries, iodine and fresh violets. I love the power here with the fine-grained, chocolaty tannins. Long and nicely chewy. Tempranillo. From organically grown grapes. Drinkable now, but better from 2024. - JamesSuckling.com

92 Points! The young red 2020 Viñas de Gaín was produced with Tempranillo grapes from different vineyards in Laguardia and Elvillar at 450 to 700 meters in altitude. It fermented in oak and stainless steel vats followed by malolactic in barrel and an élevage in barrel for eight months. This is a blend from some 20 vineyards at various altitudes, keeping the older ones to produce a wine that has complexity and depth, the expression of Tempranillo in Laguardia and Elvillar. It is approachable and pleasant but with complexity and depth. It has ripeness and richness without excess. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

93 Points! A very pretty wine now with cedar, mushrooms and dried red fruit. Medium body, fine tannins and a subtle, polished finish. A wonderful old Rioja now. Magnum bottle. Drink now and enjoy. - JamesSuckling.com

93 Points! Plenty of ripe berries, dried flowers and sandalwood on the nose here. It’s full-bodied with round, creamy-textured tannins and a delicious, savory finish. An attractive combination of fruit and nuts. Drink now. - JamesSuckling.com

95 Points! An extremely well-aged and understated Rioja, showing discreet complexity with plums, oranges, leather, dusty red berries and minerals. Juicy and bright on the palate with a zesty nature to the berry and orange citrus. Silky, taut tannins and a long yet elegant finish. Lots of finesse here, with almost pinot etherealness. Tempranillo, graciano and mazuelo from selected plots. 36 months aging, with American oak in use, too. Drinkable now, but can hold for another 10 years. - 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

96 Points! The 2021 Dits del Terra shows lower alcohol and more freshness, and it has an herbal note and feels very young and undeveloped. Like most of the 2021s, they shortened the time of aging, and it was completely in concrete and didn't touch any oak (they sold all the foudres). There's purity and precision, elegance and freshness. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

92+ Points! The ripe red 2018 Terra de Cuques is a 50/50 blend of Garnacha and Cariñena from different vineyards around the village of Torroja (there are some grapes from Poboleda, a cooler village) that fermented equal parts in stainless steel and concrete; it matured in concrete and foudres but with the intention to abandon the aging in oak in the near future. It has lots of notes of licorice and Mediterranean herbs, intermixed with ripe berries and very little impact from the oak. The palate is round and reveals abundant grainy tannins. This is a powerful Terra de Cuques. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

93+ Points! The very recently bottled 2021 Terra de Cuques Blanc was produced with 90% Pedro Ximénez and 10% Muscat with a moderate 13% alcohol, the minimum required by the appellation. It's serious, with good freshness, a little reductive at first but then more expressive with abundant notes of pollen and a honeyed touch, with a little skin contact that gives it character and some notes of quince and fine tannins. There's finesse and elegance and it's very clean. They have food in mind when they do the wines, so there is a constant search for freshness. There is a good demand for whites, and they sell everything, but the planting of white vineyards is limited. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

94 Points! Subtle green spice and cement to the squeezed lemon and grapefruit, with a hint of nori-like umami. Dry, creamy and sleek, with medium to full body and lovely texture to the neutral fruit, though not lacking in substance. Very contained. Drink now or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

From the importer: After a fateful tasting at Can Roca followed by the tasting menu, Dominik Huber became convinced that not enough attention was being paid to white wines in the Priorat. Out of the dozen courses he had, only about three were suited to red wines so when he got back to Torroja he set about creating two new wines at Terroir al Limit – Terra de Cuques and Pedra de Guix. Naturally when Dominik launched Terroir Històric in 2015, the white wasn’t going to be an afterthought and it in fact represents half of his production. A blend of Garnatxa Blanca and Macabeu, the Terroir Historic Blanc is pressed whole cluster, and ferments and ages for 6 months in a 5000L concrete tank. Nothing added, nothing taken away.

92+ Points! The 2019 Terroir Históric is charming, approachable, round, open and expressive, with good ripeness and 14% alcohol, a juicy palate with a soft mouthfeel and round tannins. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

90 Points! A round and fresh garnacha blanca here with some subtle peaches, green apples and mineral characters. Fresh acidity brightens it up on the medium-bodied palate with a fruity finish. From organically grown grapes. Vegan. Drink now. - JamesSuckling.com

From the importer: The village wine and entry to the Conde de Hervías range is Trinidad del Conde de Hervías, an outstanding value. Trinidad is the expression of three different single-vineyards in the village of Torremontalbo, on three distinct soil types, all planted to the original, ancestral clone of tempranillo: Romero, on pure calcareous clay soil in 1978, while Llano Alto on ferrous calcareous clay with river rocks, was planted in 1958.
Lastly, Trinidad contains a portion of the 1874 pre-phylloxera Las Arenillas vineyard, planted on sandy calcareous clay soil. Traditional goblet (bush training) method is used in the vineyard, which helps preserve acidity and freshness in the wines and guards against heat damage.

Trinidad del Conde de Hervías is produced from hand-picked, organically-farmed grapes. Native yeasts are utilized for alcoholic fermentation, bringing the character of the vineyard to the wines. Recently, he has been utilizing a method called integrated fermentation, where alcoholic and malolactic fermentations happen simultaneously, bringing great harmony to the wine. Finally, the aging process is never hurried; the estate releases small quantities of each wine only when the time is right for each one to express its personality.