Reviews

February 2024 95 Points The Wine Advocate

2019 saw an early start of the harvest, with low yields and small grapes with concentration but balance. The 2019 Capellanía, an update on the long-aging whites from yesteryear, was produced with grapes picked on the 10th and 11th of September. The must fermented in concrete and matured in French oak barrels for 23 months, followed by another 13 months in concrete. It did not go through malolactic. They increased the time in concrete after aging in barrel, which seems to have worked very well; the wine is subtler, more elegant and balanced. It's direct, precise, fresh and elegant, with a vibrant palate and certain lightness. It has energy and light. 30,378 bottles and 1,204 magnums produced. It was bottled in May 2023.

February 2024 94+ Points The Wine Advocate

The 2020 Rioja Reserva, their flagship wine, comes from the 300 hectares of estate vineyards. Here, Tempranillo is the backbone, making up 82% of the blend in the low-yielding vintage of 2019, complemented with 8% Graciano, 7% Mazuelo and 3% Garnacha. It has controlled ripeness at 14% alcohol, with a pH of 3.65 and 5.1 grams of acidity. I loved the aromatics here—floral and elegant, more in the style of the 2018 than the 2019. it's lighter, more elegant, fine-boned and has a silky texture and very fine tannins. Both 2019 and 2020 are very good, but 2020 is more my style. 980,000 bottles produced. It was bottled after 21 months in American oak barrels.

February 2024 93 Points The Wine Advocate

“The 2019 Rioja Reserva, their flagship wine, comes from the 300 hectares of estate vineyards. Here, Tempranillo is the backbone, making up 87% of the wine in the low-yielding vintage of 2019 and complemented with 6% Graciano, 5% Mazuelo and 2% Garnacha. This is the second vintage in the new winery. It’s a balsamic and spicy version—a wine with muscle that they aged for a longer time in barrel, and it's more traditional and serious. It's ripe at 14.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.65 and 5.3 grams of acidity. They seek balance between fruit and oak, looking for freshness. A more powerful year.”

February 2024 96 Points The Wine Advocate

The 2020 Dalmau Reserva was produced with a blend of 82% Tempranillo, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% Graciano from Pago Canajas within the Ygay estate, nine hectares planted in 1950 on red stony soils where they seek low yields to achieve concentration. It's a powerful red, with 14.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.45 and six grams of acidity. The varieties were destemmed, then fermented separately in 13,900-liter oak vats with pumping over and délestage. The Tempranillo was picked on the 24th of September and the others on the 27th. They also matured separately in French oak barrels for 17 months, then blended and put in concrete for another 13 months, something that started in 2019 and continued, for even a longer time in 2020. This vintage continues the change towards freshness and elegance that I saw in 2019 but takes it even further. The wine is beautifully perfumed, floral and elegant, refined, clean, expressive and showy. It has a very subtle balsamic twist, a very harmonious and balanced palate and velvety tannins, superbly crafted. This has freshness and balance like I have never seen in Dalmau before. Bravo! It's approachable already and should continue evolving in bottle for a long time too. 14,962 bottles, 900 magnums and some larger formats produced. It was bottled in May 2023

January 2024 91 Points Wine Spectator

“An elegant red, bright and silky on the palate, with vibrant acidity and supple tannins well-meshed with flavors of pureed mulberry, delicate dried thyme and anise, mandarin orange peel and a touch of fragrant smoke. Long and juicy on the finish. Tempranillo, Graciano, Mazuelo and Garnacha. Drink now through 2034.”

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