Castilla y Leon Wine

Winemaker Description

Our Hito red wine is versatile-made wine. It is the youngest range of red wines from Bodegas Cepa 21, but it is already going strong. It's just what was needed... a young wine that completes the circle for this modern and innovative winery. Its name refers to the stone posts which were set in the ground to mark boundaries. It's made from the youngest vines but with grafts taken from the most emblematic vines of Bodegas Emilio Moro. This is reflected in its combination of nuances, its modernity and the elegance that is noticeable in each glass.

It appears a lovely Picota cherry colour with violet hues on the rim. A mature and complex nose, dominated by the aromas of black berry fruits, liquorice, violets and fine toasting. On the palate, it's medium-bodied and has well-polished tannins; rounded, pleasant and luscious. Hints from the barrel (vanilla) coat the fruit that's both juicy and fresh, a true reflection of the altitude at which these grapes grow. A long and balanced aftertaste, driven by touches of spicy fruit.

Winemaker Description 

A elaboration that starts from a cold maceration, fermentation at low temperature and subsequent aging on lees of 4 months that lead us to a Galician white wine of excellent expression.

After a selection, the grapes are despressed and a cold maceration of the grapes previously refrigerated are carried out. Once the macerator's bleeding to get the tear must, the rest is pressed very softly and slowly in a pneumatic press. its fermentation is in stainless steel tanks for approximately 60-70 days. After fermentation, it stays for 4 months with the fine lens in the stainless steel tank.

Bright straw yellow color of medium-high intensity. The aromas of bone fruit and white flowers predominate. It shows a powerful, balanced, complex and fresh mouth displaying an attractive harmony of flavors.

Pair very well with roasted zamburiña on truffled potato or steamed drinks and lime.

Winemaking process

Hand-harvested with fruit selection in the vineyard. Destemming and pre-fermentation maceration at low temperature for 6 hours. Fermentation in stainless steel below 20°C. Aged for 4 months on fine lees with weekly periodic rackings

Tasting Notes Attractive bright pale yellow color with a steely rim, fluid and regular legs. The nose is subtle and delicate, revealing varietal aromas of white flowers, white fruits, citrus, and aniseed notes. On the palate, it is rich and fresh with good balance, featuring vibrant acidity that leads to a very pleasant and prolonged bitter finish.

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2021 

James Suckling 94 Points | A pretty and balanced wine with blackberry, chocolate and walnut aromas and flavors. Medium body. Fine tannins and a polished finish. Shows finesse for Toro. Aged for 14 months in wood, a small percentage of which was used. From organically grown grapes.

The Wine Advocate 92 Points | The entry-level 2021 Termes wants to be an approachable and easier-to-understand varietal expression of the Tinta de Toro/Tempranillo sourced from younger vines (25 to 50 years old). It's ripe at 15% alcohol, juicy and fruit-driven, with a tender mouthfeel and fine tannins. Forty percent of the barrels used for the aging were 400-liter ones, and only 20% of them were new. The élevage lasted for 14 months. 

Winemaker Notes

Termes is the vibrant expression of Toro, a symbol of its youthful spirit. It stands out from what Toro wines used to be, for its vigor, freshness and vivacity. Powerful yet balanced, vibrant yet complex, it is perfect to drink young.

Winemaker Description 

Floral, spicy aromas with hints of underbrush. Juicy, well-structured red fruit with great vibrancy and length on the palate. A long finish is marked by hints of herbs, coffee bean, and tomato leaf. 93 Points Robert Parker | The biggest volume of the winery is the 2021 Ultreia Saint Jacques, which represents some 170,000 bottles, and according to Raúl Pérez, it's the most difficult wine to make here. They now work a lot to produce this wine, a blend of 11 wines selected from the 17 they made. It's a wine that represents Bierzo and is from a year when they used more grapes from sandy soils. It has 13.16% alcohol and a pH of 3.66; it's serious and restrained but juicy and easy to drink. Seventy percent of the wine matured in barrel and the rest in troncoconic oak vats. (2021). 

Expert Reviews- Vintage 2021 

91 Points Wine Spectator | Crushed blackberry and boysenberry fruit is dark and ripe in this red, accented by hints of dried lavender, woodsy spices and a subtle underpinning of loamy earth and mineral. Fresh, with light, creamy tannins. (2021). 

Winemaker Description 

This single-varietal wine seeks the typicality and differentiation of the Mencía variety from the easternmost Ribeira Sacra and the great character that the terroir of a historic vineyard gives it.

Intense peck red, medium layer. From a frank nose and very intense varietal aromas to strawberries and blackcurrants with foral notes and a characteristic maturity.
Fassy: The attack is cool, highlights its roundness in the mouth with good balance between alcohol, acidity and tanicity. Long posttaste and a retronasal typical of the mineral character of the plot.

Exceptional selection of the Mencía grapes of the historic vineyard of the Pazo de La Cuesta. Manual harvest, followed by despalillado and discharge by gravity to the fermentation deposits. Alcoholic fermentation is carried out at a controlled temperature 16 - 18oC, after which malolactic fermentation is performed, both in stainless steel tank. It breeds on its lees and subsequent aging of 6 months in French and Central European oak barrels of 300 and 500 liters.

GRAPE VARIETY: 100% MENCÍA
From our own vineyards in San Clodio, Ribas de Sil (Lugo)

Producer Description 

Lirondo from their “Las Escuclillas” vineyard. Grapes are hand-harvested, destemmed, and macerated 12 hours before gentle pressing. The wine is fermented and aged in stainless steel tank, spending 8 months on fine lees before bottling in June 2018 without any fining, filtration or added SO2.

Apple, pear, pineapple, minerals on nose followed by orange peel, honey, lemon on palate. Crisp, dry citrus finish.

Winemaker Description 

Elaborated with grapes of more than 40 years old, is the best expression of Rueda and its terroir: youthfyl and bright, it shows fresh and lively varietal notes of sweet grapefruit and pineapple, combined with anise and fennel. 

Bone dry in the palate, its medium body is coupled with a crisp, refreshing acidity to drink at all times. It will suit any type of delicate flavors and lightly seasoned white fish or seafood.

Expert Review - Vintage 2021

Luis Gutiérrez of the Wine Advocate writes 94 Points |  The super affordable 2021 Parajes really overdelivers in this cool year. It was produced with grapes from up to 45 different plots in nine villages, trying to capture the essence of Bierzo. This regional red mixes soils and altitudes, mostly very old plots and therefore planted with a field blend with a majority of Mencía but also around 10% Alicante Bouschet and 5% whites or other reds like Bastardo, Souson or Estaladiña. It fermented by plot in stainless steel and plastic bins with some full clusters, indigenous yeasts and variable macerations, ranging between 15 and 60 days. Seventy-five percent of the volume matured in 225-, 400- and 500-liter barrels and the rest in a 5,000-liter oak foudre. It's aromatic, floral, perfumed and elegant, with a medium-bodied palate and very fine tannins. It is round and juicy, with very fine tannins and depth and complexity, corresponding to a much more expensive wine. A bargain. He harvested quite early in 2021, and the wines have moderate alcohol. 29,504 bottles produced."

Winemaker Description 

César Marquez Pérez hails from a family with deep roots in the Bierzo wine region. Historical deeds in the town of Valtuille de Abajo date the ancestral origin of the family in this region to 1752. Cesar’s focus is mainly on micro-vinifications of old-vine Godello and Mencía from parajes (small plots).

These parajes yield widely differing characteristics depending on their soil composition (mixtures of sand, clay, decomposed granite, and stone) and the orientation and slope of the vineyards.

Ultimately, Cesar envisions making single-parcel vinifications and is laying the foundation to map this region in a manner parallel to the Cru appellations of the world.

Juicy red wine with aromas of fresh red and black fruit, vegetal notes and spicy hints.

Winemaker Description 

Floral, with touches of pear and stone fruits on a very mineral and balmy background. Hints of white chalk on a background of lemon thyme and hints of anise.

Intense on the mouth, on a great acidity which is very concealed thanks to the work done with the lees to obtain a great creamy and round mouth-feel where the barrel is barely noticeable to leave prominence to the fruit and enhancing the minerality of the limestone rock background of the Atauta Valley.

Pairs perfectly with fishes and rice dishes.

White wine made from the Albillo Mayor Variety with an average age of 135 years old, pre-phyloxeric vines, located at an altitude of over 930 meters above sea level in the Atauta Valley.

Winemaker Description 

Arenisca is 100% Tinta de Toro from the Paraje Los Panaderos vineyard in neighboring Benialbo (within D.O. Toro), which is among the highest elevation sites in the appellation. Grapes were hand-harvested, wild yeast fermented with 40% stem inclusion in open vats with 30 days of maceration, then raised for 11 months in used French oak barrels.

The finished wine is bottled unfiltered, and just a touch of sulfur is added at bottling. 

Winemaker Description 

The philosophy of Bodegas Alta Pavina is to value Pinot noir, to produce wines with their own personality, a faithful reflection of where they come from, with the particularity of this variety. Alta Pavina has a team of people who interact, live and think in a coordinated and cooperative way, united with a common goal.

Pale yellow, with a greenish tinge in the glass. On the nose intense and powerful, with citrus and tropical fruit typical of the variety, as well as herbaceous nuances and white flowers. The palette is nicely structured – soft and fresh with a slightly bitter aftertaste. Medium-high acidity pairs well with a pleasing minerality.

Winemaker Description 

Pinot Noir from Valladolid with a surprisingly modern twist. Extremely fruity, light and delicious, your perfect red for summer and spicy dishes.

Winemaker Description 

Viña Sastre is an iconic, family-run winery in the heart of Ribera del Duero, famous for making long-lived, elegantly structured wines from organic, old vines grown near the Duero river. Flavus is an incredible, singular white wine made from indigenous cayetana blanca grapes from 100-year-old vines, selected from Sastre’s historic Pago de Santa Cruz vineyards at 800m to 840m for their complexity and ability to age gracefully. Sastre handcrafts classic wines through extremely low-yielding biodynamic farming methods, fermenting exclusively with native yeasts.

In Pago de Santa Cruz, a small amount of white cayetana blanca grapes have always existed alongside the red tempranillo, co-planted and traditionally mixed into the field blend destined to be one of Spain’s most iconic wines. Through Jesús Sastre’s good friend and Rías Baixas pioneer Gerardo Méndez, they first researched and separated the white grapes from the blend, making the first Flavus in 2007 to make a simple, charming white wine for near-term consumption. Ribera del Duero does not have much of a tradition for white wines, so the initial concept was to make something simple and humble. Instead, they discovered through the cellaring and consistent tasting of verticals of Flavus over the years that the wine is capable of improving in bottle for a decade or more, leaving tasters stunned by the unique, complex flavors which develop. There is no designation for Ribera del Duero blanco, so while this mighty blanco may be a “Reserva” qualitatively and spiritually, bureaucratically, it carries the humble Vino de Mesa designation. Perhaps in the future, the appellation will see the same possibilities for value and quality in their white wines as their more famous reds.

Vinification – Following a manual harvest, the wine spontaneously fermented with native yeasts in stainless steel. No malolactic fermentation. The wine was racked and aged in stainless steel for ten months, followed by two years of bottle age prior to release.

Winemaker Description 

In the heart of Ribero del Duero lies the village of La Horra. It is here that the Sastre family has been crafting elegant, ageworthy wines from old vine Tempranillo for at least three generations, giving them an intimiate familiarity with the land and its terroir.

With 30 years under his belt at the winery, Jesus Sastre prides himself on never having used chemical fertilizers or pesticides and he is committed to organic and biodynamic farming practices.

The fruit for 'Rafael Sastre' comes from 30 year old vines at elevations of 800-840m, creating ideal conditions for concentrated, complex flavors and fresh acidity. Flavors of ripe blackberry and raspberry lead the way, supported by notes of cocoa, leather and dried herbs through the finish. Partner this bottle with burgers with blue cheese or Cocido madrileño.

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2022

The Wine Advocate 93 Points | The balsamic white 2022 Le Domaine is herbal and spicy, keeping the freshness but reflecting the weather conditions, dry and warm. It has 13.8% alcohol and comes through as a powerful white that should age nicely in bottle. It's an unusual blend of 86% Sauvignon Blanc and 14% Verdejo, a little à la Bordeaux. It was bottled in June 2023. It finished fermenting in barrel, where it matured with the lees for seven months.

Winemaker Description 

A clean and bright wine. Fragrant at first, with aromas of white flowers, elder and acacia. It also has refreshing notes of ginger, and citric hints of mandarin, grapefruit and lime. When poured, hints of stone fruit come through, such as apricot and nectarine, along with mature fruits like melon. Persistent, long, creamy and unctuous. It has a fresh and well-integrated acidity, almost crystalline, ensuring that this is a highly age-worthy wine.

Winemaker Description 

It is characterised by its bold violet colour and attractive nose, with aromas of red fruit such as raspberry and sharp strawberry, as well as notes of red liquorice. These flavours are perfectly integrated with the wood, bringing excellence and depth, with an underlying essence of patisserie. On the palate it is highly aromatic, with a delicate and elegant texture, and a very fresh finish.

Cuvée Palomar embodies a vast wealth of knowledge and experience. It is the result of the patience and dedication. This wine is a symbol of sheer elegance, with its own unique sensibility and a striving for perfection.

Cuvée Palomar faithfully reflects all the grandeur of the region’s traditional grape varieties, their qualities, as well as their superb adaptation to the new climate conditions of the area.

Today’s aims are the same as yesterday’s: to create an assemblage. This wine features the estate’s best varieties in terms of quality, complexity, acid balance and maturity

Expert Review - Vintage 2021

The Wine Advocate Luis Gutierrez writes 97 Points | From the vines on the mid slope and has a very elegant, fragrant nose with notes of concentrated violet and a solid palate. The slate tannins give a talcum powder texture, and the wine opens up in the mid-palate, making it very expansive. In the long term, it seems like the slate gives a better palate and the granite is more nose.…This has the combination of the cooler year and the resilience of the slate soils, coming through as complex and elegant, powerful and concentrated but with an ethereal side to it too. Bravo!

Producer Description 

The Pizarra vineyards are found on red metamorphic slate soils, which are unique to the village of Cebreros, folded into the mostly granitic mountain range. This slate soil makes Cebreros unlike any other village within the Sierra de Gredos region. Pizarra soil is located above 950 meters, up to 1200 meters, mainly with an eastern orientation. 

The wines from here have a signature expression: they are always fresh, complex, direct, and profound. Pizarra is a limited production wine produced from over 60-year-old, bush-trained garnacha vines, yielding 15hl/ha from the vineyards of Arrebatacapas, La Redonda, La Curva, Fuente Fabian, and Presidente. The farming at Pegaso is organic, and the wines are made with low intervention and minimal sulfur at bottling.

Expert Review - Vintage 2021 

Luis Gutierrez of the Wine Advocate 96 Points | The 2021 Pegaso Granito has a very clean nose and comes through as very approachable, with an elegant personality. They picked all grapes together (there were some unripe grapes) and fermented it all together. The wine has a medium-bodied palate, the granularity of the tannins is extremely small, and it has a very fine mineral sensation. It has incredible elegance and finesse, with lifted aromatics, high-pitched, acute, fine-boned and with the frontal tannins from the granite soils.

Producer Description 

Cebreros is both the name of the village and the appellation of origin in the southeast of the province of Ávila, within the greater Sierra de Gredos region, the mountainous area located on the continental divide of Spain. The region is unspoiled, wild, rustic, full of energy and light, and as authentic as it gets. It is a transitional zone where northern Spain gives way to southern Spain. The wines from the Sierra de Gredos mountains to the west of Madrid (aka Vinos de Madrid) have finally begun to claim their rightful place alongside other top wine regions focused on producing world-class garnacha. For many insiders, the region is now leading the conversation about this Mediterranean garnacha grape, now understood to be indigenous to Spain. 

Whole clusters are picked by hand in small boxes, with a strict selection made in the vineyard. The clusters are de-stemmed, crushed, and fermented spontaneously with native yeasts in stainless steel tanks and large neutral French oak foudres. The wine is then aged for 18 months in new and used 600L French oak barrels sourced from different forests.

Winemaker Description 

Deep garnet red in color. On the nose it is serious and elegant. The evolution in the glass translates into an increase in intensity and aromatic complexity where fruit continues to be the backbone of the wine. On the palate it has a well-structured body with ripe, silky tannins. Easy to drink with a persistent aftertaste. 

Our Professional Review 

A very expressive and powerful Tempranillo. Aromas of plum, cassis and concentrated blackberry compote. Medium acidity with an enticing and velvety finish. Made from 100% Tempranillo, the wine was aged for 12 months in a combination of new and second-use French oak and American oak barrels.  Oscar Garcia, Lead Wine Buyer, 67wine.

Expert Review - Vintage 2018 

92 Points James Suckling | Plum and blackberry with chocolate and some cream on the nose and palate. It’s full-bodied with tight, chewy tannins that are polished and poised. Nicely crafted. (2018).

Winemaker Description 

Deep colored wine with a high, glyceric, and unctuous layer in the glass. Intense bouquet, with sensations of fruity freshness wrapped in washed oak that complements well without masking the varietal fullness of the Tinta del País variety in the Ribera del Duero. Fresh, vivid, elegant complexity, with long-lasting creamy and toasted nuances on the palate. Enveloped and dense polymerized tannins. Subtle and elegant. Balanced enough to drink now but can be aged in the bottle for several years. 

Winemaker Description

Produced from 100% Tinto Fino from vines age 30 years, aged 12 months in French Oak with minimal filtration. The result is a wine with a beautiful ruby colour with deep and intense aromas of red and black fruit with hints of liquorice and spice. The palate elegant and fresh with predominant fruit structure balanced by soft tannins and a lovely expressive finish.

It has the tannic richness of Ribera del Duero Tinto Fino, and smoky power from its oak, but the wine carries itself with some delicacy, its crisp fruit bringing fresh air.

Dominio Romano was established in 2005 when the Pares Balta family decided to to initiate a project in Ribera del Duero. Selecting the finest old and wild Tinto Fino vines in the best terroirs of the region, and farming with the utmost respect for the environment and tradition, the family produces wines that transmit the character of the autochthonous grape.

Winemaker Description

Wine made with only grapes, well-kept vineyards, and healthy land.” 

This is the mantra of Castellano winegrower Alfredo Maestro, a bright light amongst an abyss of industrially farmed, over-ripe, over-oaked, and over-manipulated wine-scape that is the Ribera del Duero these days.   

Alfredo Maesto is a city man, who has become a farmer as a choice and not because of circumstances. He is guided by passion and love, which we find in each of his bottles. His production is mainly of reds (Tempranillo and Garnacha) which can be drank both young and aged; then there’s the LoveAmor, the albillo (white grapes) pure which surprises even the most demanding of tasters. Alfredo Maestro manages some vineyards near Madrid, but mainly in Castilla y Leon, in Penafel in the Ribera near Valladolid (the Spanish Bolgheri), land which has always celebrated the most famous Spanish reds. To process natural wines in this piece of land is like finding yourself on the frontline in the Caporetto battle and yet, Alfredo Maestro, teacher both in name and facts, acting as a righteous Charon he takes on the task of ferrying heretic sommeliers from vanilla wines with shavings icing towards the right way of pure, real wine. Winemaker Description. 

Winemaker Description 

Mid-to-high colour intensity, typical of the vintage. It has a fragrant and complex nose, with hints of red and black fruits (raspberries, redcurrants, blackberries) andspiced notes of clove, laurel and black tea. Refreshing on the palateand bold in structure, with smooth tannins and a very pleasing flavour. Notable for its long finish. A great Tempranillo from a cooler vintage, in the classic style.

Winemaker Description

An intense red-purple colour. Potent and elegant on the nose with a great complexity of aromas (jams, minerals, menthol, spices, wild herbs, toffee and cacao).

Great harmony in the mouth with very marked sweet tannins, very complex and full of flavours of black fruits, raisins, liquorice, coffee, ink and aromatic herbs. Persistent lingering finish. Excellent wine for aging.

Winemaker Description 

Aroa is a small winery in the Deierri Valley, in Navarra, which has recently been part of the Vintae group. They are specialists in producing organic wines of the highest quality. 

Proof of this is its Aroa Jauna, a Crianza red that perfectly blends four different grape varieties to achieve an extraordinary palate. One of the best wines that have fallen into our hands for its value for money.

Winery Tasting Note: View: Deep, purple and blood tones, very clean, of great intensity and brightness. Nose: clean and crisp of ripe fruit, pear compote and sweet apple and quince. Advancing cocoa, dry leaves and bark, guessing some hides in the background. suggestive. Mouth: Tasty, agile, with well integrated tannins. 

The evolution is favourable, due to the perfect harmony between alcohol and acidity. The finish is well resolved, with a full sensation of freshness and meatiness. Modern, elegant and tempting wine.