Spain

96 Points! Aromas of black berries, black olives, black truffles, autumn leaves and earth. Grilled orange peel. Very complex. Medium-bodied with very fine tannins and a complex and complete finish. Nicely persistent and focused. 26 months in American oak. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

96 Points! The 2016 Gran Reserva is a meticulously crafted blend of 82% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano and 8% Mazuelo sourced from the esteemed Ygay Estate in Rioja Alta. It aged for up to 26 months in American oak barrels. This wine epitomizes the essence of Rioja reds when vineyard management and winemaking precision align with a distinct stylistic vision. Presenting an opaque garnet hue, it entices with a bouquet of complex aromas: plum marmalade, herbal undertones, maraschino cherry, dried fruits, licorice and subtle hints of balsamic and menthol. On the palate, it offers a dry and robust profile with a velvety, juicy texture. The finish is long, balanced and harmonious. The 2016 vintage exemplifies a wine crafted for aging, just beginning to reveal the nuances and intricacies of a bouquet that will evolve with time. - Joaquin Hidalgo, Vinous Media

93+ Points! The Mercenario range changes with the 2022 vintage and the wines will be renamed, the red to 2022 Ollos Tinto. 2022 was a warmer year, and the blend is 50% Caíño and then equal parts of Brancellao, Sousón and Espadeiro. It fermented in bin with some 35% full clusters and the rest destemmed grapes and had a long and soft fermentation, followed by time in used barrels. It has a perfumed nose with notes of flowers and herbs, spicy and tasty. The wine is clean and precise, with a light to medium-bodied palate with vibrant flavors and almost unnoticeable tannins. It's elegant, fresh, light and perfumed.- Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

94 Points! There is a clear Jura twang in the white 2022 Ollos Branco that makes me wonder if the wine had any biological aging under flor (Garrido confirmed that it did!). It's the evolution of the wine he used to call Mercenario and comes from selected vineyards in different locations and soils and a myriad of varieties—Treixadura, Albariño, Godello, Loureira, Torrontés, Lado, Branco Lexítimo and Verdello Antigo—picked when they were still crunchy. It finished at 12.3% alcohol with a pH of 3.3 and 6.1 grams of acidity. It's tasty, complex, long, salty and vibrant, with effervescent freshness and a bitter and salty twist in the finish. I love it. He wants to represent an overall picture of Ribeiro, fermenting and aging in barrels and tinajas, where the wine matured for 10 months.- Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

94 Points! 2021 was a very good vintage for Dominio del Bendito, and the 2021 Las Sabias shows the freshness of the year with the ripe, concentrated, powerful house style. You don't really feel the 16.5% alcohol in this wine, and it comes through as full-bodied but balanced, with ripe fruit and tannins and integrated oak after spending 16 months in French oak barrels. It is finer-boned than other years. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

93 Points! The 2023 Nisia Las Suertes is 100% Verdejo from very old vines (possibly even the 1880s) and was aged on the lees with bâtonnage for a minimum of 7 months in French oak puncheons and demi-muids. It has more melon ball, hay, crushed stone, and subtly honey nuances that carry to a beautifully textured, layered white with a gorgeous mid-palate, integrated acidity, and a great finish. It's a serious wine that's geared for the dinner table. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! The Lindes collection comes alternately in Bordeaux and Burgundy bottles, depending on the amount of Garnacha in the wine, with a Burgundian bottle for the wines with more Garnacha. The new 2020 Lindes de Remelluri Viñedos de Labastida is made with grapes from 11 grape growers in the village with different lieux-dits ranging from 440 to 710 meters above sea level, and the final blend was 89% Tempranillo, 6% Graciano and 5% Garnacha. The winemaking and aging were similar for all the wines to highlight the differences from the places, in this case, the character of Labastida, which is more floral and with more finesse than San Vicente, more serious, more delicate but not without clout. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

95 Points! This shows dark fruit with floral notes of violets and a hint of graphite. Medium- to full-bodied with firm, polished tannins, dark fruit character and a long, deep, persistent finish. This comes exclusively from vineyards planted in the village of Abalos. Drink now or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

93+ Points! The serious and austere new 2020 Lindes de Remelluri Viñedos de Ábalos was produced with grapes on marl and limestone from the Marqués de Legarda, who is mentioned on the label. It's a blend of 73% Tempranillo, 17% Graciano, 6% Garnacha and 4% other varieties, presented in a straight Bordeaux bottle. It reflects more the character of Haro than the Rioja Alavesa, wines with more Graciano. It's medium to full-bodied with 14.17% alcohol and has fine-grained, chalky tannins. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

93+ Points! Rivas de Tereso are parishes of San Vicente de la Sonsierra, but the difference with the 2020 Lindes de Remelluri Viñedos de Rivas de Tereso is that the vineyards are at higher altitude and the percentage of Garnacha is much higher here (38%), so there's more mountain character and more herbal notes in the wine. It has 57% Tempranillo and some 5% other varieties. Despite a moderate 13.95% alcohol, the nose shows good ripeness, and there is some wilderness here, perhaps a little more rusticity too. The soils are very stony and rich in limestone, and the altitude gives the wine an austere twist. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

94 Points! Pretty profound nose with crushed stones, dried herbs and crushed blueberries. Dissolved, fine-grained tannins here with a full body and a lengthy, tightly wound finish. Drink or hold. - JamesSuckling.com

94 Points! The perfumed and floral 2020 Lindes de Remelluri Viñedos de Peciña is the smallest cuvée from a narrow amphitheater in the parish of San Vicente de la Sonsierra. It's a blend of Tempranillo with 25% Garnacha and therefore presented in a Burgundian bottle, reflecting the high percentage of Garnacha. It has notes of Mediterranean herbs, some coolness from the high altitude of the vineyards and some austerity in the tannins. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

94 Points! From a cool, high amphitheatre of vines planted in stony, calcareous soils, this is a big, broad-shouldered Rioja replete with slightly austere but expressive blue fruit, a touch of balsamic and pleasingly high acidity. The floral elements – violet especially – are enticing, and there’s a slightly meaty edge and just a wisp of smoke. Linear, precise, with robust tannins, it’s a wine with a beautiful underlying freshness that needs time in the glass. - Decanter Magazine

93 Points! The Garnacha 2022 Barrio Pastores is a village red from Aldeanueva de Ebro and produced with grapes from two plots planted in 1989. The full clusters fermented with indigenous yeasts after being foot trodden, and the wine matured in a 3,000-liter oak vat until it was needed the following harvest. It has a fruit-driven nose that's a little grapey, with a sense of ripe berries and wild herbs. It has 14% alcohol and a pH of 3.45. The palate is medium to full-bodied with fine tannins, ripe flavors and fine tannins. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

93 Points! The 2020 Angelita del Challao comes from a blend of different vineyards in the three valleys from Labastida, looking for a village wine; it was produced with 85% Tempranillo and the rest Garnacha, Mazuelo, Viura, Garnacha Blanca and other rare varieties from their own vineyards and purchased grapes. It fermented in concrete with indigenous yeasts, 40% full clusters that are foot trodden and the rest uncrushed grapes and matured in 225- and 500-liter barrels and 2,000-liter foudres—10 months with each plot separate—and then it was blended and let to settle in concrete for another 10 months. They look for a more approachable wine than Challao, with more floral aromas in a very elegant and harmonious way. The palate is medium-bodied with medium ripeness, 13.5% alcohol and very good freshness and acidity, balanced and harmonious, very tasty and with elegant, refined tannins. Really very good. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

93 Points! The 2022 Pétalos was produced with 85% Mencía, 10% white grapes and 5% other reds from over 90 hectares, 20% owned by them and the rest from 180 families. It fermented with some full clusters in oak and stainless steel vats and matured in barrels of different sizes for 10 months. It's clearly more Mediterranean, with notes of rockrose and other aromatic herbs, juicy and round, more fruit-driven, aromatic, velvety and very pleasant and easy to drink. It has 13.5% alcohol with a pH of 3.54. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

91 Points! A well-balanced red, with coulised black cherry and boysenberry fruit alongside light, supple tannins. Shows pretty notes of dried sage and violet, anise, tar and white pepper. Drink now through 2030. - Wine Spectator

93+ Points! They haven't produced this wine since 2019, and there are substantial changes. There's no Treixadura in the 2022 Viño Branco Dos Canotos; they didn't do any skin contact; and it didn't go through malolactic, because it has a low pH (3.0) and high acidity. It matured in chestnut cask with full less until bottling in May 2023, quite early. The wine is dominated by the Albariño (around 40%, the rest, Lado, Caíño Branco and Loureira) in the aromatics, floral and herbal. It has around 11.7% alcohol, a very tasty and vibrant palate with pungent flavors, and very good persistence and length. There are only 910 bottles. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

93 Points! The mellow and soft 2020 Camino de los Arrieros comes from the same plots as the 2019 I tasted next to it, but the profile of the wine is quite different. This 2020 is a full 1% higher in alcohol, and despite keeping a low 12.5% alcohol, it comes through as riper and more fruit-driven. The integration of the oak in all the wines from De Dios is amazing; the wines show purity, delineation, balance, elegance and freshness. It reveals fine, chalky tannins and a long and dry finish. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

94 Points! The 2022 Tio Uco Vino de Comarca, crafted with 90% Tinta de Toro and 10% Garnacha sourced from Paramo de la Guarena, is bottled as Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y Leon and was aged in 2500-liter foudres. It exhibits a purple hue. Its reductive nose, reminiscent of cherries, also features plums and light vanilla. Light and fairly lean, the taut and chalky palate leads to a compact, refreshing, juicy and lasting finish. - Joaquin Hidalgo, Vinous Media

93 Points! I found the 2018 Vinyes Velles to be quite ripe with notes of prunes and decayed violets, with 14.5% alcohol and a low pH, so the nose seems overripe but the palate feels fresher. It's 84% Cariñena and 16% Garnacha matured in 225-liter oak barrels for 15 months. Ripe and generously oaked. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

93+ Points! The village 2021 Viñedos en San Vicente de la Sonsierra was produced with 75% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha and the rest white grapes, mostly Viura from vineyards in the middle and higher part of the village. It fermented partly with full clusters and matured 50/50 in concrete and 500- and 600-liter barrels in their cave. This feels quite serious, with ripeness and power, slowly revealing more elegant notes and some floral hints, with an earthy touch. It feels like the grapes ripened thoroughly in the longer cycle and developed plenty of nuances. It has 13.9% alcohol and is medium to full-bodied, serious and balanced, with the stuffing to develop in bottle. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

94 Points! There's also a village red from Labastida, of which I tasted two vintages. The 2021 Viñedos en Labastida is a blend of different plots with some 85% Tempranillo, 10% Garnacha and 5% white grapes fermented with indigenous yeasts and some whole clusters in search of balance and elegance. The wine matured in 500- and 600-liter oak foudres in their cold cave. This was my favorite of the village reds, with a perfumed and elegant nose, complex, deep and nuanced. It's serious, harmonious and with very fine tannins. It has medium ripeness and good balance. 3,600 bottles were filled in September 2022. - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com

93+ Points! The 2020 Cuvée Las Santas was produced from a number of small plots at higher altitudes and cooler expositions (north), only Garnacha, small plots. It has some Mediterranean, Châteauneuf-like character (cherries in liqueur, Mediterranean herbs) with 14% alcohol, very good acidity and very fine grained tannins. They fermented it with 50% full clusters and matured it in used French oak barrels for nine months. This is the wine they produce in the style they like, a more personal wine from special plots. 1,423 bottles were filled in March 2022.  - Luis Gutierrez, robertparker.com