Tempranillo/Tinto Fino

Once again, sisters María and Cristina Amézola de la Mora have produced our own-label Rioja. A nose of fresh hedgerow fruit and subtle vanilla leads to a generous but fresh palate of raspberries and blackberries, with hints of cinnamon and exotic spice. The layers of fruit reveal the wine’s complexity and finesse. This is gloriously enticing.
Catriona Felstead MW, Wine Buyer, Berry Bros. & Rudd

Amézola’s 2016 Crianza, produced from 90% Tempranillo and 10% Mazuelo, has excellent depth and structure. Fine-grained tannins are complemented by oozing dark blackberry fruit and lifted by a red-fruit freshness which mirrors the elegant nose. As a Crianza, this wine has been aged for 15 months in oak (60% American and 40% French). This gives the wine subtle hints of vanilla spice and nutmeg which are beautifully combined with generous, ripe fruit notes. Try this with Vietnamese food or classic tapas dishes. Ready to drink, but will keep.
Lucy Bland, Buying Assistant (spring 2019)

This is Rioja – but not as you know it. Made from over 90 percent Garnacha and from the Rioja Oriental at the easternmost point of this region, it is pure, elegant and utterly drinkable. The unique freshness in this wine comes from the fascinating La Montesa vineyard which is planted at 550 metres’ altitude in the foothills of Mt Yerga. In addition to this, the purity and richness of sweet red and black berry fruit is testament to the huge amount of focus and attention that the famed Álvaro Palacios and his team put into each of the vines throughout the growing season. This is a Rioja that will not cloud your sense on the first sip, but instead will leave them invigorated and intrigued.
Catriona Felstead MW, Wine Buyer

Rollo Crittenden introduced Italian varieties t this pioneering Mornington estate. Following in their father’s footsteps, today siblings (“hermanos” in Spanish) Rollo and Zoe are experimenting with Spanish varietals. For their Tempranillo, they aim to make a youthful easy-drinking style, where the primary fruit characters are dominant. The wine spends only five months in old oak to give extra complexity, without eclipsing its generous bouquet of plums, cherries and sweet spice. Extremely enjoyable now, this will drink well to 2021. 
Stefania Masin - Wine Buyer

 Amézola de la Mora is a small family-owned estate in Rioja Alavesa run by sisters Cristina and María Amézola. When they took on the winery after their father’s death (1999), they were the youngest wine-producers in the region. They have done an outstanding job of combining tradition and innovation.

This is a classic Rioja, medium ruby with an intense nose of black cherry, damson and fresher notes of raspberry, complemented by exceptionally well-integrated notes of toasty vanilla and baking spices, a result of the 22 months spent in both French and American oak. Fine-grained tannins melt in the mouth for a smooth finish. Drink now to 2021.

This Crianza spends 13 months gently maturing in barrel, then a further year in bottle prior to release. It displays ripe fruit notes while remaining remarkably fresh thanks to the region’s significant diurnal shift. Deep ruby in colour, the wine offers aromas of black cherry, blackcurrant, forest fruits and fresher raspberry notes alongside subtle hints of cedar and nutmeg. On the palate, it is fleshy but structured, with a finesse and silkiness that lingers on the finish. Ready to drink now.
Lucy Bland, Buying Assistant (July 2019)

Finca Allende, the estate created by the exuberant Miguel Ángel de Gregorio, is located in the hill town of Briones in the Rioja Alta. “Allende” can be roughly translated as “further”, reflecting the property’s philosophy to go further and further towards creating the perfect Rioja. 

This is intense ruby with purple edges. Fresh, vibrant blackberry, cranberry and wild forest fruits dominate before the subtle cedar and tobacco is revealed. The oak is perfectly integrated. It’s very lively on the palate with excellent depth and an elegant structure. Drink now to 2021

The 2016 Torresilo exhibits generous red and black bramble fruit with a crunchy hint of elderberries. It is a sophisticated wine, juicy and fresh but with great concentration. The tannins are plentiful yet tissue-like and soft; the length long and rewarding. Winemaker Oscar Aragón’s control over the use of the 70 percent new and 30 percent second-use French barrels really impresses in this 2016. Drink 2019-2025.

The bodega has held this vintage of Macán back for an extra year to allow it more time to mellow in the cellar. Even so, this is a big, bold wine and, especially with its use of French oak, one that is very reflective of the Bordeaux side of its parentage. Sweet, ripe, red and black fruit dominate and it is extremely concentrated with a notable cedar and vanilla lift. The tannins have been very well managed here, and you can feel the warmth of the vintage coming through. There is an intriguing, hedonistic pot pourri scent to the nose which makes this stand out from the crowd. This is a powerful, modern-style, extremely well-made and sophisticated Rioja. Drink 2020-2032.
Catriona Felstead MW, Spain Buyer

It certainly feels that in 2014, the wine has come of age. It has a beautiful nose of raspberries, blackberries and Christmas spice. The approach on the palate is initially gentle, like a caress, yet the power and perfection of this wine gradually builds. Layers of such juicy, pure, crunchy fruit come through, perfectly offset by a graphite edge giving focus and linearity. The purity, freshness and sheer class of this wine is incredible; the gentle skill of Gonzalo Iturriaga is apparent in its harmony and balance which has much more restrained oak than has been common for Valbuena in the past. The tannins are silky smooth and present with definite grip on the finish yet with a corduroy texture to begin. This is a wine that will stand the test of time, there’s no question about it. It is absolutely delicious. Drink 2024-2040.
Catriona Felstead MW, Spain Buyer

Following a vintage as profound as 2004, 2005 has come as a very pleasant surprise.  Many Spanish producers have on the whole been cautiously subdued regarding the 2005 vintage, partly due to wariness of declaring back to back exceptional vintages.  Although slightly different in style to the 2004, this new 2005 release is arguably its equal.  There is less structure, and more finesse but it is exactly what we now expect from this wonderful Gran Reserva.  A sweet, dark cherry and wild raspberry core is bolstered by that classic creaminess to the fruit.  There’s the classic vanilla, and sweet spice hints that you’d expect but this is tempered by fine acidity, very clean and fresh, serious precision for a wine of this style.  Light on its feet right across the long palate, but not at the expense of vibrancy; this can be enjoyed direct from release or cellared for the long term.  One only has to look at the cost of mature vintages (’94, ’85, ‘82) to see the benefit of buying at first release.   
Martyn Rolph - Private Account Manager

Vivid red. The nose displays an array of ripe red fruits, pungent flowers and exotic spices, with vanilla bean and coconut accents building with air. Sweet, broad and luscious, offering intense cherry-vanilla and raspberry liqueur flavors that deepen on the back half. Shows excellent depth as well as finesse, with velvety tannins adding shape to the very long, gripping finish. This suave, seamless Rioja spent six years in American oak barrels. Drink 2019 - 2026
93/100 points, Josh Raynolds, vinous.com, Nov 2015

There is something completely ethereal about the nose of this Valbuena. 2011 was a cooler year and, to my mind, this has played to the strengths of this terroir. The wine is beautifully fragrant with layers and layers of lifted red and black fruit. Sweet cranberries and raspberries entwine with freshly picked blackberries on the palate and a lovely sense of freshness pervades the whole. The tannins are fine yet pert, indicating the potential for this to age gracefully, and the length is impressive.  It is the combination of all of this, combined with the sheer sophistication of this wine, that makes it a truly special Valbuena. Drink 2017-2030.
Catriona Felstead MW, Spain Buyer

Produced from 100% Tempranillo, the 2011 Valbuena is immediately striking on the nose with a floral bouquet of wild roses and black raspberry leaf. Underneath sits a core of beautifully defined cool red fruits; plums and cherries spring to mind. Graceful on the palate with a sleek texture, flavours of forest fruits and bramble are evident amongst a slightly richer note of milk chocolate coated red berries. There is a remarkable freshness here, neatly encompassing the ripe and grippy tannins which support in the background. This younger brother of ‘Unico’ is cool, elegant and supremely well balanced, moving with great focus and structure through to a long and rewarding finish. A truly delicious wine which should not be overlooked, allow a couple of years for this beauty to evolve and enjoy from 2018 – 2028+.
Chris Lamb, Private Account Manager

Ungrafted vines from fantastically unpromising sandy single-vineyard soils are the source of one of Spain’s most exciting jewels, named, appropriately enough, after the pater familias of this very gifted family. The 2011 is the quintessence of fine Tinto Fino (Tempranillo), aged in new French oak for 18 months, yet gloriously fresh and exuberant. A nose of cedar, graphite and blackberry gives way to a dignified palate dominated by ripe fruit, needless to say, but with an interesting sub-text of tea, iodine and lavender. The tannins are very fine and the wine’s future is assured over the next decade.