Violets and lavender dominate the nose of this mighty wine. Its palate is tannic and powerful, as is the norm in Toro, but not without silky elegance too, with notes of tobacco, macerated plum and tapenade all vying for attention. Long and harmonious, this will be more than a match for even the most robust of Iberian dishes.
Simon Field MW - Wine Buyer

Numanthia is a patchwork of ancient vineyards in Toro, touched by extreme climate conditions and also by the boundless benevolence of LVMH’s ownership, which has reinvigorated the estate and confirmed its place very close to the top of Spain’s vinous hierarchy.

Torresilo is a powerful, old-vine Tempranillo from outstanding vineyard plots in the Ribera del Duero and it spends 16 months in new French oak barrels. A further interesting piece of trivia to ponder as one pours a generous glass of this deep, dark and broodingly powerful wine is that some of the vines which offer up their fruit are on pre-phylloxera rootstock.

This is sure to raise a few eyebrows amongst the hardened oenophiles among you and is perhaps worth tasting for that reason alone! However that would do the wine a disservice, as the ripe damson, nutmeg and mocha aromas hold great promise which is fulfilled by a palate, generous and elegant yet restrained. The finish is mineral and leaves the drinker with questions that can only be answered by pouring another glass.
Nicholas Stewart - Wine Buying Department

A blend of 95% Tinto Fino and 5% Merlot, the Valbuena 5° takes its name from the village where it is produced. It is aged for less time than the ‘Unico’ or the Reserva Especial with the 5° designating the years it has been aged before release. The wine is made from younger vines (average vine age of 25 – 20 years), although their aggregate age would compete with most other leading wines.

It has a similar blend to its older brother ‘Unico’ and the Valbuena 5° is best thought of as a younger sibling. The nose shows damsons and plums and is quite floral with violet undertones. The palate is bursting with flavours: forest fruit and red cherries are underpinned by vibrant acidity. The tannins are ripe and sinewy but have a firm grip. Complex and complete. The 2009 is probably the best vintage of Valbuena we have tasted to date. It shows precision and focus but also conveys the richness, concentration and freshness of this great vintage.
Stuart Rae - Private Account Manager

Artadi El Pison, this unassuming 1945 vineyard, with its rather modest pad-locked gate and purely functional hut at its centre, does not immediately announce itself as the most celebrated vineyard in Spain.

One taste, however, confirms this fact. Aromatically complex, civilized and life-affirming, the wine opens up on the palate with great confidence, precision and density. Dark fruit, spice and hints of pepper at this early stage, but very very fine supporting tannins and incredible length.

Juan Carlos Lopez compares it to 2007, but feels that it is a shade riper and may have an even longer life. We also see a resemblance to the superb 2004, which is now approaching a second phase of excellence. Until 31st August 2017 this product is discounted by 21%. Prices shown include discount; no further discount will be applied at checkout.

The maiden 2009 Valdegines is sourced from a seven-hectare plot located on clay-limestone soils, one of three hitherto blended into the Pagos Viejos. It has a very pure, rounded, blackberry, cassis and cedar-scented nose that is reminiscent of a very young, fine Saint Emilion. The palate is medium-bodied with black cherry, licorice and cedar on the entry. There is patently a lot of cedary new oak that needs to be subsumed into the wine, and the finish is severe and tannic at present.

Artadi was one of several imperative visits during my visit to Rioja, where I met respected winemaker Juan Carlos Lopez de Lacalle. His wines need little introduction, having already garnered glowing reviews in this publication and elsewhere. But what I was interested in discovering was whether Rioja can really exploit the minutiae of its multifarious terroirs and offer genuine nuances in a similar fashion to Burgundy or the Mosel (to give but two examples of regions where place is everything). If there is one man who lives by that philosophy, it is Juan Carlos, who oversees a coveted range of modern style Rioja that receive a generous amount of new French oak. Let us commence with the entry-level Vinas de Gain red and white. The Viura is harvested separately from Juan Carlos's intermixed vineyard and is fermented in 500-liter French oak barrels and kept in stainless steel tanks on the lees with three of four lees-stirring.
Neal Martin - Wine Advocate #202 Aug 2012

The combination of Vega Sicilia and Rioja is, of course, alluring. The fact that Vega have been secretly buying up top plots around the village of San Vincente de la Sonsierra for over ten years adds a note of intrigue to the story and the fact that they now own 120 hectares, stretched over the border of Riojas Altas and Alavasa, makes for a most satisfactorily dénouement.

The input of winemaker Xavier Ausas has, as always, been invaluable and the philosophy has drawn on eclectic influences and specifically the partnership between Pablo Alvarez and Benjamin de Rothschild. The influence of the latter is hard to avoid; the wood is all French and the wines are bottled by lot, separating the first (Macan) from the second wine (Macan Clasico) in the Bordelais fashion. Most importantly, however, the wines are 100% Tempranillo and never lose sight of provenance.
 
The senior wine has been matured for 15 months in French oak, 70% new and 30% one year-old. The elegance and linear dexterity of traditional Riojas has been cleverly captured in this subtle nuanced example, its velvety texture and fine tannins recalling, appropriately enough, Bordeaux, but its savoury generous flavour offering a melliferous hymn to the greater glories of the finest Tempranillo.
Simon Field MW – Wine Buyer

The indefatigable Alejandro Fernandez is now well over 75 years of age, but still has a minute control over all aspects of his winery, apparently getting up at five every morning so as to be able to make a tour of his vineyards before breakfast! Located in Penafel, East of Valladolid, Pesquera is a 160 hectare property which, along with Vega Sicilia, ranks as the finest in the region. 95 % of the oak is American here, and racking takes place every four months.

The result is a pure yet powerful expression of Tempranillo, known in this part of the world as Tinta Fino. The complexity on the nose is redolent of tar, coffee, licorice and black fruit. The tannins are refined and supple, the fruit being allowed a full and eloquent expression. After the rather unusually restrained 2008, 2009 is a more classic and forthright Pesquera. Spice, dark dark fruit, and a seductive creamy texture all presage a more than satisfactorily development over the medium term.
(Simon Field MW, BBR Buyer)

Aro may or may not be Ebro Estuary Spanish for Haro, the town at the centre of Muga’s world. This super-cuvée is made in minute volumes (5000 bottles) and is a searching blend of  30% Graciano and 70% Tempranillo, matured in French barrique for18 months.

The wine does not want for tannins, but more than makes up for any youthful astringency with the sheer weight of dark fruit a resulting presentiment of real excellence.

Simon Field MW – Wine Buyer