Spanish Wine

Winemaker Description 

The Antique Amontillado comes from a very old Fino (8 yrs old) which is refortified from 15.5% to 18.0% ABV and introduced into a solera of Amontillado where it spends a further 12 years.

Light ambar color. Exceptionally aromatic, completely dry and long aftertaste. 

Expert Reviews

92 Points Robert Parker | The NV Antique Amontillado is amber-colored and has a subtle nose of tobacco, some iodine, pollen, beeswax and hazelnuts. The medium- to full-bodied palate shows lots of concentration and acidity, with a very intense finish. 4,000 bottles are produced yearly.

91 Points Wine Spectator | A dry, nervy style, offering balsam wood, clove, dried orange peel and Brazil nut notes that weave together through the lacy finish. Shows range, but stays delicate in feel overall.

Expert Reviews 

95 Points Wine & Spirits | Inocente is Valdespino’s flagship, a wine from the Macharnudo Alto vineyard, where the soil is pure white albariza. It ferments in 600-liter wooden casks without added yeasts, a practice that has become increasingly rare in Jerez. The intensity of the wine’s salinity is remarkable—iodine and salt—coming together with ripe white fruit, scents of nuts and exotic spices. The structure is dry and austere, like drinking the juice of stones. This will last for a decade in the cellar, but it’s impossible to hold onto a bottle if there’s raw seafood nearby.

94+ Points Robert Parker | As with many other wines from the José Estévez group, there is a special bottling of Valdespino's flagship NV Fino Inocente in magnum, but in this case they have kept the bottles for six months as the wine is from the saca otoño 2016, the autumn bottling from 2016. So the wine is offered with some extra bottle age. It has all that you expect from Inocente, a long aging wine fermented in bota from grapes grown exclusively in the Macharnudo Alto vineyard and bottled with an average age of ten years. All the textbook aromas and flavors are there, coupled with the elegance and mineral intensity the Macharnudo white chalky soils provide. Customers who purchase one of this scarce magnums probably know Inocente already. This will have a longer development in bottle.

Winemaker Description 

Despite its fame for supplying ageless soleras and manz anilla to royal families, Valdespino is one of the very few family owned estates in Jerez today. The winery began in 1430 when King Alfonso X granted the best vineyards in Jerez to Don Alonso and Valdespino.

The Valdespino Manzanilla Deliciosa is made from 100% Palomino Fino grapes grown on the Pago Miraflores vineyard in Sanlucar de Barrameda, very close to the Atlantic Ocean. For the Manzanilla, Valdespino ferments the wine in stainless steel, and then ages it under flor over 5 years in their Bodega in Sanlucar.

The Solera itself is called Misericordia, which is quite famous in the city and has a long and rich history. The Deliciosa pours a pale lemon with flavors of apples and salt. It drinks very dry, crisp, and refreshing with a saline finish. Enjoy with almost any type of seafood, but especially mussels, soft-shell crab, octopus and squid. Winemaker Description. 

Our Professional Review

Oscar Garcia Moncada | Miguel Angel de Gregorio is a master at crafting wines of great balance and finesse while showcasing the terroir of Briones, Rioja. Nose of dark plums,  blackberry and raspberry. Medium-bodied with good tannic structure and great mouth-feel. Ready to drink.

Winemaker Description

Intense cherry color with purple hints. On the nose, fruit sensations (blackberries, blueberries, black fruits) dominate the perfectly integrated tones conveyed by aging in wood barrels that provide sensations of cedar and tobacco.

It is serious and lively on the mouth with power and a great balance; broad and flavorsome combining fruity freshness and the elegant structure of a wine that is suitable for aging. 

Winemaker Description 

This extra fine cream sherry comes exclusively from select vineyards in the "Zona de Jerez Superior", the world's finest area for production of sherry. 

It is aged through the time honoured Savory & James solera system which was established in 1780. Finally it reaches full maturity; delicate and at the same time unusually rich and delicious.

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2020 

The Wine Advocate 93 Points | 2020 Reserva showcases wines from the Haro region and is a blend of Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano fermented in oak vat with a seven-day maceration. It was aged in barrel for 24 months—80% French and the rest are from central Europe and America. It was bottled at 14.5% alcohol and a pH of 3.55. This is a very reliable wine, keeping the profile year after year: ripe, juicy with integrated oak, spicy and tasty, with fine tannins with an approachable profile. This is a gentler year that is going to be a success with the general public. Balanced and gentle. It was bottled in June 2023. Drink: 2024-2029.

Tim Atkin 93 Points | One of a dwindling number of top Riojas that combines grapes from the Rioja Alta and Rioja Oriental sub-regions, this impressive Reserva is a blend of Tempranillo with 20% Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano. Aged in French and 15% American barrels, it’s a youthful, structured, intense red from a difficult year with toast, wood smoke, black cherry and blueberry fruit and lots of underlying structure. 2024-2032.

James Suckling 92 Points | Ripe but fresh nose of currants, blackberries, chocolate and plums. Not a big red, rather fluid and medium-bodied with soft tannins. A juicy, drinkable Muga Reserva that is already appealing.

Jeb Dunnuck 92 Points | I loved the 2020 Muga Reserva, a spicy, complex, classic Rioja that has both red and black fruits, ample cedary spice, leather, and violet-driven aromas, medium to full body, a ripe, supple, layered mouthfeel, and outstanding length. A blend of 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha, and the rest Graciano and Mazuelo, it's perfect for drinking over the coming decade.

Wine Spectator 91 Points | A rich, savory thread of tobacco, smoke and ground coffee underscores flavors of creamed cherry and blackberry fruit, black olive, orange peel and cocoa powder in this fresh and focused red. Medium-bodied and well-knit, with lightly chewy tannins firming the finish. Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano. Drink now through 2030. 80,000 cases made, 15,000 cases imported

Winemaker Description 

This 2020 vintage has a bright ruby-red color, with medium depth and a garnet-tinged rim. On the nose you discover an intense, complex wine. Aromas of wild fruits of the forest (blackberries and blueberries) come to the fore, with hints of spices. On the palate it is long, elegant and nicely balanced. Its sharp acidity is perfectly integrated and it has soft tannins. The finish is very long and full of fruit.

This wine will be an excellent accompaniment to meat dishes like a ribeye steak, as well as with charcuterie and all kinds of casseroles.

Winemaker Description 

This extra fine sherry comes exclusively from select vineyards in the 'Zona de Jerez Superior' the world's finest area for production of sherry. It is medium dry with a delicate color and aroma reminiscent of hazel nuts. It has an especially pleasing taste that pairs beautifully well with hors d'oeuvres, soups, salads and cheese.