2015 Spain

The 2015 Rioja Blanco from Finca Allende is 95% Viura with 5% Malvasía, from 55-year-old vines. The vineyards face southeast and northwest, giving the wine an excellent balance between ripe, fruity notes, and the fresh acidity and structure. This wine was fermented in French oak and then spent seven months on lees, before spending a further seven months in barrel, which adds a generous, slightly creamy texture and a subtle ground-nutmeg character. This richness is perfectly complemented by crisp notes of pink grapefruit, white nectarine and jasmine. It offers real complexity and would go very well with paella or even slightly spicy Thai food. Ready to drink now.
Lucy Bland, Buying Assistant (summer 2019)

The sweetness of the 2015 vintage is evident in this Macán Clásico with its ripe bramble nose but there is an intriguingly scented note to the bouquet which makes it extremely attractive. Full of crunchy, fresh red fruit, this is a refreshing, elegant and moreish Rioja. The tannins are all in evidence; they are pert yet incredibly fine suggesting that, whilst this can be enjoyed now, it has the structure of a much more serious wine. Drink 2019-2025.
Catriona Felstead MW, Spain Buyer

One of Cillar de Silos’s best yet, the 2015 Viña de Amalio offers a perfume of black raspberry leaf and a core of red plums and damson fruit. Gentle aeration brings further complexities with notes of sweet earth and spices. Perfectly aligned silky tannins caress the palate, laden with flavours of wild raspberry and blackberries, complemented by attractive clove and chocolate notes. Powerful yet restrained, there’s depth and volume across the palate, and proof that all the components are working in harmony as you are left with a moreish finish of well-defined fruit and an elegant freshness. A wine of great stature which will only get better, I’d recommend leaving this for a few years and enjoy from 2021 to 2032.
Chris Lamb, Private Account Manager

Fresh, very pure fruit dominates this wine, with an attack of almost strawberry coulis notes, broadening out into darker cherries and bramble fruit. The richer, red soils here give a gorgeous succulence to the wine, with a top note of sweet cranberries yet a fine backbone and poise. This is a really beautiful wine. Drink 2020-2028.
Catriona Felstead MW, Spain Buyer, October 2017

The Guía Peñín, Spain most revered wine guide, recently awarded this wine 98 points – and it is easy to see why. Sturdy and strong with noticeable tannins at present, it is old-vine mountain Garnacha at its best. More straightbacked than its predecessor and with darker fruit, this is a serious and concentrated expression of the variety, yet with an elegance and freshness that is impressive. Touches of white pepper, spice and fine minerality keep the otherwise exuberant nature of the fruit in check. This is a Garnacha that deserves a little air in the decanter to bring out its more subtle, seductive character. Drink 2022 to 2028.

Hacienda Monasterio’s new releases this year continue to impress. There is an elegance to the Cosecha (so called to reflect the fact that, with 18 months in oak, it is aged for far longer than a standard Crianza) with its fine, blackcurrant nose and lovely, scented aromas. The palate is svelte with super-fine, pinpoint tannins coated with layers of juicy, fresh black fruit. This is generous but with a minerality that holds it in check all the way through the long, complex finish. Matured for 18 months in 30 percent new and 70 percent used French oak, this is truly impressive. Drink 2020-2026.

It always feels like such an honour to taste this wine; it is utterly unique. Made from a blend of nine different grapes grown on old terraces at 650 to 800 metres’ altitude, it is the perfect reflection of the energy and diversity of the fascinating terroir at Remelluri. Macerated lemon and verbena aromas come though followed by such lovely richness yet the beautiful texture is all perfectly in balance with the fine, fresh profile of the wine. It has such wonderful energy with waves of flavour lapping the palate: tart tangerine, yellow peach, blood orange, all surrounding a superb mineral core making the wine tight, focused and utterly refreshing. This is just gorgeous. Drink 2019-2028.