Highly recommended
90-94pts
Bodegas Tobelos, Los Quiñones 2019
YOA 93 SJE 93 PBT 95 £55
Burridges of Arlington St
A restrained nose, with citrus and stone fruit. Round and plump on the palate, with refreshing acidity and a lot of extract. This is made for the long run – about 10-15 years.
Drink 2023-2036 Alc 13%
Bodegas Amaren, El Cristo de Samaniego 2017
YOA 93 SJE 95 PBT 94 £39.99
Alliance Wine, Baythorne Hall,
Curious Liquids
Cedar, eucalyptus, toast and dark fruit lift; sumptuous palate and a long finish with a saline edge. Drink 2023-2027 Alc 15%
Bodegas Luis Cañas, Camino Leza 2017
YOA 93 SJE 92 PBT 97 £64.99
Curious Liquids
A juicy, deep wine with an array of herbal and fruit flavours, and fine-grained tannins. Concentrated, it distils a vineyard, leaving a long memory. Drink 2023-2029 Alc 14.5%
Viña del Lentisco, Villota Viña Gena 2018
YOA 95 SJE 95 PBT 92 £32
Decántalo, Vinissimus
Elegant, dense, velvety fruit, promising a sumptuous style. Still young, but tannins will integrate. Fine intensity with a blackcurrant liquorice profile. Drink 2022-2028 Alc 14.5%
Bodegas Valdemar, Conde Valdemar Finca Alto Cantabria 2019
YOA 93 SJE 95 PBT 95 £21-£26
Available via independent merchants Deftly made, with moderate toasting – evidence of fermentation in French oak. Fresh and serious, this is a great classic in the making. Drink 2023-2033 Alc 13.5%
Sínodo, Los Tollos 2018
YOA 94 SJE 95 PBT 92 N/A UK sinodovitivinicola.com
Rhubarb and redcurrant aromas. Dark fruits and dark chocolate abound on the palate while darts of lemon refresh. Fine tannins, youthful with an exceptionally long finish. Drink 2022-2028 Alc 14%
Juan Carlos Sancha, Cerro la Isa 2019
YOA 93 SJE 92 PBT 93 £55
WoodWinters
Quite oaky, showing hints of tropical fruit, then imposing on the palate, with much volume and good balancing acidity. A long finish. Will develop over five to seven years.
Drink 2023-2029 Alc 14%
Ojuel, Carrasojuela 2019
YOA 93 SJE 95 PBT 94 POA
Flavours of Spain
Intriguingly complex: there’s a sense of wild grasses, stony soil and windblown vines, with pure lemon notes and a very long finish.
Drink 2023-2030 Alc 13%
Bodegas Bilbaínas, Viña Zaco 2017
YOA 91 SJE 94 PBT 96 N/A UK bodegasbilbainas.com
Very ripe black fruit; perfect. Damson-like but not bitter, with lots of sweet tannins that give grained texture and a graceful, persistent finish. A wine with signs of a strong identity. Drink 2021-2028 Alc 14.5%
Sonsierra, Duermealmas 2017
YOA 94 SJE 93 PBT 94 N/A UK sonsierra.com
A top-notch wine of huge density, with balancing acidity; exceptionally ripe, on the edge of being excessive. Very impressive, massive style. Drink 2023-2030 Alc 14%
Bodegas Izadi, El Regalo 2018
YOA 93 SJE 93 PBT 92 £30
Decántalo, Vinissimus
Intense aromas of blackberries, with pungent hints and evidence of French oak. Atlantic expression of Tempranillo: fresh and intense, open. Far too young to drink now. Drink 2024-2028 Alc 14.5%
‘Tempranillo reigned supreme, although the judges’ favourite red was a Garnacha from Badarán’
Bodegas Luis Cañas, Ribagaitas 2018
YOA 92 SJE 93 PBT 95 N/A UK luiscanas.com
An intriguing nose, with lots of fruit and a mix of lavender, liquorice and cedarwood. Very powerful, but extremely refined and complex. It needs some years in bottle to soften up. Drink 2024-2030 Alc 14.5%
Dominio de Berzal, Las Laderas de José Luis 2017
YOA 93 SJE 94 PBT 91 N/A UK dominioberzalonline.com
Joyously juicy palate with a line of acidity. Harmonious tannins. Viñedo Singular wines are often modern in style, but this seems a classical Rioja. Drink 2021-2026 Alc 14.5%
Bodegas Ysios, Finca el Nogal 2017
YOA 91 SJE 94 PBT 92 POA
Pernod Ricard UK
Sumptuous dark fruit overlaid with berries on the nose. Dense, dark fruits on the palate with a lively lift of acid. Firm, grippy tannins will soften in due course. Drink 2022-2027
Alc 15%
Bodegas Manzanos, Palacio de Manzanos 2017
YOA 92 SJE 92 PBT 94 N/A UK manzanoswines.com
Intense blackberry fruit, with a sinewy texture, impressive concentration and a slow finish. It shows the value of individual vineyards in Rioja. Drink 2021-2026 Alc 15%
Dominio de Queirón, El Arca 2018
YOA 92 SJE 91 PBT 92 £60
Boutinot
A classic Rioja with a surplus of complexity, marked by the traditional ageing method. This has lots of red fruit, and is very expressive. Drink 2021-2026 Alc 14%
Bodegas Ysios, Finca las Naves 2017
YOA 92 SJE 95 PBT 93 POA
Pernod Ricard UK
Has a gently smoky aroma and a succulent, supple, juicy palate. Bright and refreshing with undertones of bitter chocolate and cranberry. Drink 2022-2028 Alc 15%
Rufino Lecea Blanco, Reminde 2017
YOA 93 SJE 95 PBT 92 N/A UK reminde.es
Lovely red fruit and herbal aromas. Deliciously juicy and distinctly black-fruited and spicy, with a silky quality to the tannins. Fresh, with a long, long finish. Drink
2021-2027 Alc 14%
Finca de la Rica, Las Cabezadas de Matadula 2018
YOA 93 SJE 90 PBT 93 N/A UK fincadelarica.com
Heavily oaked on the nose, showing its true character on the palate, with impressive depth, lots of fruit and unique tannic texture. Far too young to drink now, it will improve over many years. Drink 2024-2033 Alc 14%
‘Some producers believe these wines will help preserve old vines, others that they might raise the profile of unsung growers’