“Deep and intense, yet mineral, with fresh blackberries, blueberries, black olives, pepper and lemon peel. Hints of graphite, cocoa powder, incense and cedar, too. Flavorful and juicy, medium-to full-bodied palate with a zesty quality to the fruit. Very long and eclectic, with a traditional twist to the modern sensibility. 86% tempranillo with 10% cabernet sauvignon and 4% graciano. Nothing hefty here. Better after 2025, when extra complexity will have emerged.”

“Extremely well-mannered, traditional character to this, showing layer upon layer of savory complexity on the nose, with iron, dried meat, tobacco, balsamic fruit, dried red berries, orange peel, leather and dried mushrooms. A medium-to full-bodied, linear and zesty Rioja that’s full of nuanced flavors that linger through the very long, savory finish. Floral, too. Yet, it remains bright and precise. Tempranillo with 16% mazuelo. Drink on release or hold.”

“A barrel selection of the most age-worthy wines from the vintage, the 2015 Gran Reserva Limited Edition is a blend of 80% Tempranillo, 9% Graciano, 9% Mazuelo and 2% Garnacha from their 300 hectares of vineyards. The grapes were picked between the September 14 and October 16; the destemmed and lightly crushed grapes were fermented by plot and variety in stainless steel, and the varieties aged separately for 27 months in American barrels. Tasted next to the wines from 2018 and onward, this is a more powerful and concentrated wine, also because of the style of the vintage. The concept is to make a wine with more structure, power and aging potential. It's very classical with notes from the aging in American oak clearly recognizable, very spicy and tasty. The wine is medium to full-bodied and powerful but already developed by some time in bottle; it's spicy, tasty, chalky and still young with potential to age.”

“The 2017 Capellanía comes from the earliest harvest in recent times. It's pure Viura from the vineyard that names the wine and was aged in French oak barrels, which comes from the tradition of whites with a long aging in wood that were one of the hallmarks of Murrieta, structured and with good aging potential. These are some of the oldest vines, planted in 1945 at the highest elevation, 485 meters above sea level. The grapes were picked September 13th and 14th, when the bunches were pressed in a vertical press and the must fermented slowly in stainless steel at 10 degrees Celsius without going through malolactic fermentation. The wine matured in French barriques for 24 months, but since 2016, the wines are sharper and they also started introducing a small percentage of American oak barrels. It's 14% alcohol with a pH of 3.23 and 6.58 grams of acidity (tartaric), and it has more integrated oak and is sharper and fresher. It's medium-bodied, with less volume and more length, beautifully textured and tasty. It follows the general path in the winery toward more freshness and elegance. It's even more remarkable given how adverse the natural conditions from 2017 were... 22,920 bottles were filled in March 2021, a much shorter production than the 2016. The wine will change more in 2018 when they started fermenting the wine in concrete.”

“ A creamy, complex and flavorful Rioja here, with intense lemon rind, brioche and pastries, fresh apricots, almond and fine lees. A round, intense and full-bodied expression with sleek, concentrated flavors with mouth-cleansing acidity. Very serious and long! 100% viura from 90-year-old vines. Drink or hold.”