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 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. 

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, Assistant 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.

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.

One of Rioja’s signature wines and certainly the most distinctive label from Muga, Prado Enea is aged for seven years in a combination of vat, cask and bottle, its 2006 manifestation cleaving the traditional to the modern with powerful French oak tannins framing a magnificent savoury personality. An almost meaty vitality and more than a whiff of wood-smoke underlines the individuality of this truly great wine, its dark fruit core enhanced by notes of tobacco box and the kitchen garden.
Simon Field MW – Wine Buyer

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

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

Aromas of flowers, hot stone and blackberry follow through to a medium to full body, superb density and balance. Precise wine that shows beautiful focus. Powerful suppleness. Drink or hold.
James Suckling  - 96/100 points

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

The 2011 Reserva continues the fine run of form at Hacienda Monasterio, the wines are now consistently amongst the finest of Ribera del Duero. Whilst the core is dark and concentrated, this is a wine full of aromatic expression with a nose featuring floral and violet notes alongside meaty, savoury characters. The palate continues in the same vein, dark and rich but with no lack of finesse; fine acidity and fine, velvety tannins create a juiciness and linear flow. Very complete and beautifully harmonious. Drink 2016 - 2026

Alión was the first 100 percent Tinto Fino wine aged in 100 percent new oak in Ribera del Duero.. and where the mighty Vega Sicilia lead, others follow……and the style is now very popular in the DO, but, unsurprisingly, seldom equalled. Exuberant fruit and age-worthy restraint go hand in hand; the 2012 is a cornucopia of violets, damson, black olive and toasty oak… less flamboyant than some of its forebears ( 2009 being an example), maybe, but still with plenty of matière and an impressively structured finish.
Simon Field, MW - Wine Buyer

Muga’s excellent 2010 is a blend of 75 percent Tempranillo, 20 percent Garnacha with the balance is shared between Graciano and Mazuelo. The wine has been generously aged for 24 months in a combination of French and American oak, none of which is new. An archetypical Muga nose, savoury and rich, with hints of crushed raspberry and black pepper, leads onto a concentrated mid-palate, toasty, generous and long, with chalky tannins providing impressive architectural support. 
Simon Field MW -  Wine Buyer

The 2011 Cirsion is unashamedly modern and ripe, with a very exuberant nose where the oak is perfectly integrated with notes of blackberries, plums, dark cherries and damp earth, peat and a core of violets and blueberries. This is a wine from selected bunches with a special ripeness that they consider produces a wine that needs shorter time in barrel (some eight months) and is accessible and released earlier. Exceptionally in 2012, this wine has 5% of Graciano; until now it’s been a pure Tempranillo.

There will be no Cirsion in 2013 and they have serious doubts about 2014. Next year we will taste that 2012, a special wine they produced to celebrate their 25th anniversary. It will be released in June 2015. It actually feels like the wine closes down in the glass. I believe this wine will benefit from a couple of years in bottle and wouldn’t touch it until 2017. This 2011 is a limited cuvée of 6,114 bottles.
93/100 points Luis Gutierrez, eRobertParker.com #218 Apr 2015