The floral perfumed and expressive 2019 Cardia Pombeiras was produced with Mencía from 40-year-old vines on slate soils 0.16 hectares. It fermented with some 30% full clusters and indigenous yeasts and matured in used French... Read More

A juicy and nervy red showing a tangy lift of white pepper to the red cherries and strawberries. Tight and dusty tannins thoroughly coat the fruit delivering a tight yet caressing feel to the succulent palate full of juicy berries.... Read More

A hint of dark earth funk to the fresh black cherries blueberries and a hint of savory nori and white pepper character. Very sappy and juicy on the palate with tart black cherries that brighten up the palate with a very appetizing... Read More

In 1985 in Laguardia, a small town in the Alevesa region of Rioja, a group of local vineyard owners founded Artadi as a co-operative with the view of focussing on their vineyards. This project was taken over in 1992 by the Localle... Read More

The 2021 Las Gravas contains grapes from a vineyard planted in 2006 (that already contributed to the 2020) and it has given the wine a fine-boned profile with more freshness and varietal Monastrell notes a rustic-elegant feeling.... Read More

The 2021 Clos Erasmus is not a shy wine and comes in at 15% alcohol but with a pH of 3.3. The search here is for balance as power comes as a given in Priorat. It was produced with 70% Garnacha and 30% Syrah mostly from 40-year-old... Read More

The 2021 Clos Erasmus is not a shy wine and comes in at 15% alcohol but with a pH of 3.3. The search here is for balance as power comes as a given in Priorat. It was produced with 70% Garnacha and 30% Syrah mostly from 40-year-old... Read More

2020 was a challenging year that gave them a lot of work in the vineyard but it it paid off. The 2020 Laurel feels very elegant balanced and fresh a little lighter perhaps with perfectly ripe tannins a little in line with 2016... Read More

2020 was a challenging year that gave them a lot of work in the vineyard but it it paid off. The 2020 Laurel feels very elegant balanced and fresh a little lighter perhaps with perfectly ripe tannins a little in line with 2016... Read More

The 2021 Laurel the second wine from Clos Erasmus was produced with grapes from younger vines between five and 40 years old and is a blend of 80% Garnacha 11% Syrah and 9% Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapes were cooled down for 24... Read More

The 2021 El Tamboril Tinto felt closed and austere like no other wine from the portfolio. This single vineyard from the village of Navatalgordo the most austere and cold of the villages where they work is also the highest altitude... Read More

The 2014 La Bruja de Rozas is produced from a variety of vineyards in the village of Rozas de Puerto Real. It's a fluid and fresh fruit-driven Garnacha with a tantalizing nose of flowers with an herbal twist wild strawberries... Read More

I have never seen an herbal and peppery nose in a wine from Las Iruelas like the 2021 Las Iruelas; more specifically it has a pungent note redolent of the Basque chili pepper "piparra" with wild strawberries white peppercorns... Read More

The 2021 Las Umbrías is completely unusual. For a start it's cloudy. They decided to bottle it like that without racking and the nose feels like a Poulsard from the Jura produced in Chambolle-Musigny wild lively and expressive.... Read More

The Rozas 1er Cru has a slight change in 2022 and turned into a village wine the 2022 Rozas. They selected the best five vineyards that used to go to the Rozas 1er Cru vineyards they have worked since 2012. In this warmer vintage... Read More

The last vintage of the Rozas 1er Cru as it is now is the 2021 because the wine changes in 2022. The 2021 Rozas 1er Cru a lieu-dit red from the village of Rozas de Puerto Real is from the same plots as in previous years but cropped... Read More

Daniel Landi was born to a long family of grape growers in Mentrida, in the Sierra de Gregos mountains to the west of Madrid. He started to make wine in conjunction with his cousin at Bodegas Jiminez-Landi but he left in 2012... Read More

Daniel Landi was born to a long family of grape growers in Mentrida, in the Sierra de Gregos mountains to the west of Madrid. He started to make wine in conjunction with his cousin at Bodegas Jiminez-Landi but he left in 2012... Read More

A fragrant nose of plums cherries cloves and tea leaves. It's full-bodied with fine tannins and fresh acidity. Chalky and stony character with a spicy peppery finish. Drink or hold.

I first tasted the 2019 Albillo Viñas Viejas double blind with my tasting group and I was blown away (and the rest of the group too!) by its sheer elegance and freshness. It has a fine reduction hints of toasted sesame seeds... Read More

I tasted two vintages of the entry-level wine starting with the 2021 Pícaro del �guila Tinto. It's ripe and round with round tannins velvety and polished approachable and hedonistic. It's nicely built and serious very... Read More

I also tasted the 2017 Canta la Perdiz from the low-yielding and warm year marked by spring frost. The Tempranillo field blend clusters fermented in concrete vats with natural yeasts after being foot trodden. The wine went through... Read More

Their Gran Reserva style red 2015 Peñas Aladas Gran Reserva had a very long aging in barrel a total of 54 months including six months of malolactic fermentation. This comes from a myriad of small plots of some of the oldest vines... Read More

2017 was a low-yielding year so I also tasted the 2018 Reserva their flagship red wine that wants to be a representation of the village of La Aguilera—fine serious and elegant. It's 95% Tempranillo with the remaining grapes... Read More

The 2022 Doad Lousas the second vintage of the village red comes from gneiss and schist soils from the traditional zone of the Sil. It is warmer and riper a textbook example of ripe Mencía fruit from an earlier-ripening zone... Read More

Negramoll, Listán Negro and a bit of Listán Blanco from three north-facing parcels ofcentenarian piè franco vines in the La Corujera area, ranging from 350-650m above sea level.The vines are planted on sand... Read More

TThe bottled 2022 Lousas Viñas de Aldea is aromatic extroverted open and immediate floral perfumed and expressive with a juicy and round palate. It's fleshy and round still with 12.5% alcohol on the label but possibly a tad... Read More

Listán Negro from centenarian piè franco vines trained in the ancient cordon trenzado in theLa Habanera parcel at 600m. The grapes fermented and macerated on the skins and stems in concrete tank for 15 days without... Read More

Listán Negro from centenarian piè franco vines trained in the ancient cordon trenzado in two parcels at 350m and 600m. The grapes were foot-trodden and fermented by parcel in large concrete vats with some whole clusters,then... Read More

As I have mentioned in the past the primarily Mencía vines in the Parcela Rosende are planted on pure granite rather than the slate that is more typical in the Amandi sub-region of Ribera Sacra. This vineyard is not ancient with... Read More

Many different local red grape varieties including Listán Negro, Listán Gaucho, and Malvasia Negro.
From ancient parcels at 75-300m right on the coast. The vines are own-rooted and untrained, and the precarious slopes... Read More

As with other wines I also tasted the 2018 Espectacle del Montsant next to the 2017 to catch up as I last tasted the region some 16 months ago. 2018 was a cooler year of slow ripeness and the grapes achieved an amazing 16% alcohol.... Read More

After studying oenology at university Ester Nin settled in Priorat in 2000 began working for Mas Martinet. She now works as viticulturist for Daphne Glorian at Clos i Terraces. But in 2003 she began a side project called Nit de... Read More

The single-vineyard 2021 La Rodeda comes from a small plot (0.4 hectares) of some 79 years of age planted with Garnacha Peluda the biotype of Garnacha with a more rustic character and more acidity. It fermented with full clusters... Read More

The nose of the 2021 Nit de Nin Mas d’en Caçador is really different with a savory condition reminiscent of cured sausage (Catalan "fuet" dry sausage) herbal fresh and floral with some notes of meat and blood. It was produced... Read More

After studying oenology at university Ester Nin settled in Priorat in 2000 began working for Mas Martinet. She now works as viticulturist for Daphne Glorian at Clos i Terraces. But in 2003 she began a side project called Nit de... Read More

After studying oenology at university Ester Nin settled in Priorat in 2000 began working for Mas Martinet. She now works as viticulturist for Daphne Glorian at Clos i Terraces. But in 2003 she began a side project called Nit de... Read More

The 2021 Finca Sandoval follows the path of the impressive 2020 with an exuberant Syrah nose all violets tar smoked bacon fat and hints of orange peel. This is a blend of 80% Syrah 10% Bobal and 5% each Moravia Agria and Touriga... Read More

The 2021 Simeta is a varietal Arcos a grape with large clusters and grapes with thick skins from a single plot on the south side of the Penya Foradà mountain planted in 1970 on rocky limestone and iron soils. It fermented with... Read More

The 2022 Camino de Ribas is a single-vineyard wine from La Cóncova. It was produced with the grapes from the same vineyard as previous years. He only uses a little sulfur at bottling time. This is very aromatic expressive and... Read More

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... Read More

There is a change in the 2022 La Canoca as this year it's no longer a single-vineyard wine but a paraje or lieu-dit wine that includes more plots from the same place. Therefore volumes have grown from 500 bottles in the previous... Read More

So much dried flower mushroom iron rust sweet berry and grilled orange. Full-bodied with very elegant and refined tannins that melt in the mouth and give a real sense of place and integrity. Balanced and harmonious. The finesse... Read More

As with the other wines I also tasted the 2020 As Sortes next to the 2019. The vineyards and process were the same native fermentation in 500-liter French oak barrels where the wine matured with fine lees for eight months. But... Read More

The 2021 Ultreia Valtuille was produced with the clay part of their Villegas plot as the sandy part was used for the new Ultreia Villegas bottling but introduced the lower part of the vineyard with more soil and more clay. They... Read More

The grapes for the 2020 Cantos del Diablo were picked a little earlier to avoid the rains and the wine has a paler color than the 2021 I tasted next to it. It feels a little more reductive and despite having very similar analytics... Read More

The 2021 Las Uvas de la Ira produced and sold before by Dani Landi is now a wine from Vitícola Mentridana under the direction of Curro Bareño who takes over in this cool vintage. It was produced in the same way from six vineyards... Read More