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

This young wine from Cillar de Silos which has been made using only the highest quality grapes. Interestingly for a wine from Ribera del Duero, it has not undergone any oak ageing, which allows the true flavours of the grapes to shine through. It is brimming with notes of ripe red cherry along with darker, more luscious hints of blackberry and plum. Floral hints of violet and wild herbs lift this wine and give it real energy. There is a refreshing mineral core and a line of acidity running through it which persists long into its finish. This would be delicious slightly chilled with a platter of charcuterie.

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

This delicious red Vermouth is made from 100 percent Tempranillo by the energetic Oscar Aragón of Cillar de Silos. It is one of the most unusual Vermouths we have come across, with an absolutely glorious note of lavender that transcends the more classic bitter herbs. This would be an excellent base for a mouth-watering Negroni or would add an unusual twist to a classic Martini- but it is also superb on its own over ice- summer in a glass. 

 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.

Deep ruby in colour, this wine is vibrant and energetic from the offset. Made from 100 percent old-vine Garnacha, this wine displays ripe, expressive aromas of red cherry, raspberry and strawberry, accompanied by hints of dried, wild herbs, violet, cedar and toast. On the palate there is remarkable freshness thanks to the vineyards’ high elevation. The smooth tannins and oaky flavours are exceptionally well integrated and create a moreish, velvety texture and lingering finish. This would be fantastic alongside paella or a lamb tagine. Drink now to 2023.
Lucy Bland, Buying Assistant

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.

Bodegas Muga is one of the great names of Rioja, located in the centre of Haro, a stone’s throw from López de Heredia and La Rioja Alta. Founded in 1932, Muga remains family owned. This wine is a superb effort from the warm 2009 vintage, sitting happily alongside the best Prado Eneas.

The nose reveals a wealth of hedgerow and forest fruits muddled together with notes of sweet spice and vanillin. Underneath sits a core of dense, ripe blackberry and mulberry fruit. The palate is characterised by a beautiful silkiness, ripe yet gradually building tannins provide structure for the richness of the blackberry, wild strawberry and damson fruit. Full and rich with great power, held together by the wine’s underlying freshness, this is an almost hedonistic Prado Enea which will develop into a beauty over the coming decade and beyond. Drink 2020-2032+.

The 2013 vintage was tricky in Ribera del Duero but Alión is a triumph. Sweet red Victoria plum notes on the nose are allied with a gentle strawberry perfume. This sweet strawberry and cranberry character continues on the palate but is held in check by the high level of very fine tannins which add precision and focus. This is a pretty, elegant Alión with much more subtlety than the 2012. It would be gorgeous to drink soon and will mellow even more over the next 10 years. Drink now to 2024.
Catriona Felstead MW, Wine Buyer

2006 was unusually warm in Ribera del Duero, the normally quite detailed vintage condition notes released by the house this time reduced to the single, abeit revealing word ‘hot’…..The harvest was correspondingly early and the wines do not lack for power. As usual the blend in Valbuena is 85% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) and 15% from a balance of Malbec and Merlot. The wine was aged for less than two years, the significant majority of which took place in new barrels (half French and half American). The wine has sophisticated aromatics of pain grillé, blackberry and tobacco and a concentrated, elegant mid-palate, with finely etched tannins and a pavonine finish, full of potential and pleasure.
(Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer)

Valbuena is Vega Sicilia’s second wine, produced from younger vines and aged for a shorter period than Unico. As a result it is more obvious fruit focussed and approachable earlier. The 2008 is produced with 93% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) with the remaining 7% a blend of Merlot and Malbec. It is released 5 years after vintage and has spent 7 months in large wooden vats, followed by 15 months in new barrels (50% French and 50% American oak), 3 months in semi-new barrels and another 6 months in large wooden vats. Vanilla and brambly fruit on the nose is framed on the palate with silky tannins and a streak of acidity that adds freshness. Very fine.
Simon Field MW, Wine Buyer

Vega Sicilia, Spain’s ‘first growth’ and most prestigious wine estate, was founded in 1864 by Don Eloy Lecanda y Chaves, who arrived from Bordeaux with cuttings of local grapes and planted them, together with Spain’s signature grape Tinto Fino (Tempranillo). Vega Sicilia has founded its success on its meticulous wine-producing practices; in the vineyard it applies low yields, aided by green harvesting and a painstaking grape selection.

As usual the blend in Valbuena is 90% Tinto Fino ( Tempranillo) and 10% from a balance of Malbec and Merlot. The wine was aged for less than two years, the significant majority of which took place in new barrels ( half French and half American). It is perhaps the presence of Malbec, allied to the warm vintage and the use of American oak that have engendered a wine with a gregarious ( almost a 'come-hither') personality.

Black fruit and mocha dominate the nose; then the palate is equally forward with a generosity of texture and a warmth of fruit that do not fail to seduce. An extremely appealing vintage!
Simon Field MW, Buyer

Valbuena is Vega Sicilia’s second son, aged for a shorter period and designed to drink sooner, but still capable of extended cellaring. Made from young vines (around 80% Tinto Fino (Tempranillo), the rest Melot and Malbec), which are destined later in life to contribute to Unico or the Reserva Especial, this gives a stunning taste of the estate’s quality at a fraction of the price.
 
Wonderful nose of tea, tilled earth, perfumed cassis fruit, hickory and vanilla pod. Soft, silky, delicious fruit, followed by a wave of mouthlining tannins, truffle, eucalyptus and blackberry; impeccable balance and excellent value for the quality on show.
Fine Wine Team