Spanish Wine

Producer Description 

Las Beatas is a spectacular 1.9 hectare property which Telmo and Pablo have invested tremendous time and energy: 15 years of renovative viticultural work took place before a single bottle was made.

There are at least ten grape varieties grown on eight terraces, predominantly Tempranillo with 30% Garnacha, some Viura and traces of many other rare, perhaps unidentified cultivars, all planted on cold sandy soils. Las Beatas was made and aged in a single 1200 liter old French foudre. This is a refined, elegant and fluid wine with great complexity and nuance that will age beautifully. 

Oscar Garcia Moncada, 67 Wine Buyer, writes: Ramon Canals Marta Violet Ecologic Penedès 2023 is the perfect wine to sip as we “Spring Forward”! Made from a blend of 60% Muscat, 20% Xarel·lo, and 20% Macabeu, sourced from Canals’ proprietary vineyards in the DO Penedès. Certified organic grapes enhance this wine’s purity and quality.

The nose bursts with aromas of white blossom flowers, jasmine, and stone fruit. The palate is clean and precise, offering flavors of green pears, citrus peel, and orange preserve. Refreshingly dry with a long finish, this wine, at 12% ABV, does not overwhelm the senses.

Ideal food pairings include fish crudos, tuna tartare, and slightly spicy Indian or Asian dishes.

Producer Description 

The white grape varieties Xarel.lo, Macabeu and Muscat from our Penedès vineyards are the base for the Marta Violet elaboration. It’s fresh, fruity and floral white wine. The violet bottle is the unique violet glass bottle in the world.

It presents a beautiful pale yellow color. Aroma: It’s fresh with fruity and floral notes.
Palate: It has a good balance with smooth palate and pleasant finish. Gastronomy: It’s recommended for aperitif, assorted salads, pasta, rice and fish dishes. Enjoy anytime of the day.

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.

Producer Description 

Very modern white wine, made with the oldest vineyards of chardonnay and viura rioja. A well balanced wine, very fresh and fruity to enjoy ar any time of the year.

Winemaker Description

Dark ruby in the glass, this wine has a nose of black cherry, cranberry and aniseed. It is very soft on impact, with flavors of raspberry, cassis, milk chocolate and licorice. Satiny tannins hold off on the palate at first, make their presence known and then slip away in time for a bright finish. 

Winemaker Description

Enjoy your BR on the go with the new format: Sparkling BORN ROSÉ canned wine. You can also opt for the Canned Rosé wine version.

Crafted from a mix of Grenache Noir and Tempranillo grapes, BORN ROSÉ Barcelona is both organic and vegan, and is light on sulphites and alcohol. Born in Barcelona.

WE DON'T MAKE WINE. WE MAKE ROSÉ. Winemaker Description. 

Winemaker Description

Villapanes is a rich mahogany color and boasts seductive, toasty aromas of almonds, caramel, fig and a hint of floral perfume. On the palate it is dry, generous and full-bodied, with persistent and lasting flavors.

Pair with roast poultry, red meat or salty, aged cheeses. 

Expert Reviews 

93 Points Wine Spectator | A shade darker than its peers, relying more on black walnut, Brazil nut and singed orange peel notes, while dried persimmon and quince flavors add a succulent side. Light rye and green tea hints echo through the razor-sharp finish, where sweet details peek in.

91 Points Robert Parker | The NV Villapanes Oloroso wears a dark amber-brown robe and has a very intense nose, showing some marmalade, dark tobacco and brandy notes. The palate is textbook Oloroso, round, ample, warm, a little spirity, ending with dry walnut flavors. It manages to balance power and elegance quite well.

91 Points Wine & Spirits | Dominated by notes of salted almonds, this Oloroso has its fair share of sweetness to balance that saline side, making it more readily accessible to a wider range of palates and fitting perfectly with smoked pork.

Winemaker Description 

Smoky and with clear hints of dried fruits, Torelló 225 Brut Nature is in top form. The base wine of Xarel·lo, the majority in the blend, was fermented in 225-liter barrels and, together with the rest of the wines (Macabeo and Parellada), aged for 3-4 months in 2900-liter foudres. Its passage through wood and its long aging in the bottle with the lees explain its complexity and its charming touch. 

Winemaker Description 

The Habla la Tierra is a cuvée of Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. The grapes come from quite young vines planted around 2000 on slate soils. After the harvest, the grapes were cool pre-fermented and then fermented in stainless steel fermenters.

This was followed by ageing in French wood for four to five months.  The Habla de la Tierra presents itself juicy ripe, dark and spicy on the nose. The unusual cuvée of Tempranillo, Cabernet and Syrah alternates between the scent of freshly sliced plums, figs, ripe elderberries, peonies and black pepper as well as anise, earthy pray and black tea. In addition, one thinks one can already perceive a trace of extract sweetness in the fragrance.

The Habla la Tierra 2021 shows itself very juicy on the palate. The dark fruit is ripe and accompanied by earthy aromas and herbal spice. In addition, a cool, fresh vein runs through the wine, while the tannin proves to be ripe and delicate. The red wine is down-to-earth in the most pleasant sense, uncomplicated and easy to drink, and at the same time it has character.

Currently, it should be caraffed. Food recommendations by Christoph Raffelt. Spanish blood sausage - with braised apples and onions with mashed potatoes Braised rabbit with sage and piment d'Espelette. Spelt Salad with Roasted Peppers and Feta.

Winemaker Description 

Made using wines made with 50% Garnacha Blanca and 50% Xarello grapes, El Bandarra Vermut Bianco is infused with more that 40 botanicals to create its complex bittersweet character.

Expert Reviews - Vintage 2018 

96 Points James Suckling | Mineral, macadamia, pine nuts, white sesame and white fruit with a touch of spice. A bright and linear Capellania that shows excellent tension, freshness and complexity. Long and appetizing finish. More taut and gastronomic now. 100% viura. Drink now or hold. 

95 Points Tim Atkin | The cooler 2018 vintage was ideally suited to the production of high-quality whites like this pure Viura from a six-hectare plateau at 485 metres within the extensive Castillo Ygay estate. Modern, perfumed and poised, it has finely integrated French oak, fennel, thatch and beeswax aromas, herbal complexity and a nutty, fragrant, citrus zest palate. 2025-40 

94 Points Wine Advocate | To catch up with the current vintages that I shall review every 12 months from now on, I tasted two vintages of some of the wines, including the whites. The 2018 Capellanía is 100% Viura from the plot that names the wine. The vineyard is six hectares planted in 1945 at 485 meters altitude, the highest in the estate. It fermented in concrete, the first vintage to do so, as it was fermented in stainless steel until then, and matured in second-use French oak barrels for 22 months. It spent a further seven months in concrete, a long élevage, with the idea to produce a structured white with aging potential, while keeping the varietal character. The wine is subtle and elegant, following the path of all the wines in the portfolio here, still marked by the élevage in oak, spicy and smoky. The palate is balanced, with a nice combination of fruit and oak, with a soft texture, clean, focused and tasty. It has 14% alcohol, a pH of 3.1 and 6.10 grams of acidity. 21,836 bottled and 688 magnums produced. It was bottled in July 2022. This is now released with the Gran Reserva back label.

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

Blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnacha, Syrah. Deep red in colour which lingers in the glass. The ageing in oak is noticeable, well blended with fruity aromas which give it finesse and complexity.

Mouth-filling and complex, smooth and well balanced on the palate. This is a wine which shows slightly smoked red fruit. 

Winemaker Description

A blend of 70% Monastrell and 30% Cabernet Sauvignon. Aged 24 months French & American oak. The wine exhibits a glass-coating opaque purple color.

The nose is expressive with pain grille, underbrush, brier, minerality, blueberry and blackberry fruit. On the palate is a plush, opulent wine with great density, savory flavors, and a lengthy finish.

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 

This saca de Junio comes from a Fino solera that has aged in a bodega in El Puerto de Santa Maria. It has spent the entirety of its time aging beneath a veil of flor. Typically used for blending purposes, this remarkable solera has never previously been bottled on its own. 

Nicolas Palazzi was raised surrounded by his family’s vineyards in Bordeaux and introduced to spirits, Cognac and Cognac cellars through a dear friend of Nicolas’ grandfather. This gentleman will be referred to as “Mr. X”.

Established somewhere in the Cognac region of France, Mr. X’s family started distilling at over a century ago. Recognizing in Nicolas a fledgling passion for Cognac, this mysterious man shared his knowledge and connections within the small and commonly impenetrable world of artisan Cognac. This gave rise to PM Spirits, as Nicolas began sourcing, collecting, aging and blending these rare casks and subsequently releasing limited series bottling in the USA.

PM Spirit’s passion for artisan spirits has slowly broadened its focus over the years to include within its portfolio other small-scale hand-crafted distillates such as Sicilian Grappas, French Eau-de-vies & Liqueurs, Rum, Tequilas, Mezcals.

Expert Reviews

Vinous Josh Raynolds 92+ Points | Dark purple. Complex, highly perfumed bouquet of red berries, cherry pit, incense and dried flowers. Spicy raspberry and cherry flavors show a refreshingly bitter quality and are given depth by a note of licorice. Packs a serious punch but there's a surprisingly lithe quality to this wine too. The finish clings with impressive tenacity and repeats the cherry and floral notes. I'd let this wine rest for at least another three years or so. By the way, the 2007 Calvario has put on weight in the last year but also possesses superb energy; I rated it 94 in August. - Vinous 92+

Wine Advocate Neal Martin writes 90 Points | The 2008 Calvario is a blend of 90% Tempranillo, 9% Garnacha and 2% Graciano aged for 18 months in new French Allier oak. The nose offers broody blackberry and briary at first, leisurely unwinding to reveal black olive and violet aromas, with the oak well-knitted into the fruit profile. The palate is medium-bodied with fine, sturdy tannins complemented by the fleshy black fruit laced with just a pinch of white pepper towards the much more elegant finish. It deserves a couple of years in bottle. (2008).

Decanter Sarah Jane Evans MW writes 93 Points |  A wine that smells of luxury and plenty of attention, showing the right balance between oak and fruit and a balancing acidity; expressive and charming, solidly built. Impressive, with tightly crafted tannins, and it should improve over time. Drinking 2019 -2023.

Expert Review - Vintage 2020 

93 Points Robert Parker | 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. 17,282 bottles and some larger magnums were filled in May 2022. (2020). 

Winemaker Description

Rioja is without question the most famous wine region in Spain, but the region is anything but homogeneous. The three sub-regions – Rioja Alavesa, Rioja Oriental and Rioja Alta – differ enormously. This wine comes from the small hamlet of Labastida in the northwest of Rioja Alavesa, the smallest and northernmost sub-region located in the Spanish Basque Country and characterized by calcareous clay and sandy soils. 

The mastermind behind the Dominio del Challao winery is Manu Michelini, whose family makes incredibly fine, terroir-driven wines under the name Michelini i Mufatto at both their winery in Bierzo, in northeastern Spain, and the Argentine winery in Mendoza. The Challao is the winery's top wine. Medium ruby ​​red with violet. There is significantly more intensity in the glass than with the Garnacha, but this wine still reminds me more of Burgundy than Bordeaux on the nose. The winery is clearly on the trail of elegance. Juicy, fresh wild berries, black cherries, rose petals and black Assam tea, that's delicately smoky. 

Then come violets and freshly fired clay. In the mouth, cassis, fresh blackberries and lots of black cherry again. The intense, chalky minerality is phenomenal, building up gradually on the tongue. Delicately bitter, fresh herbs and a touch of After Eight. The tannins are fine and chalky, and as soon as you feel the structure, the next wave of black cherry washes over your tongue. 

This is not at all what you imagine Rioja to be in the classic sense. But this wine is a lot of fun because of its freshness and mineral intensity without being boring. On the contrary, I am convinced that it will develop gracefully in the cellar for years because it is made for a long life. Super chic fabric and without question a Rioja in a class of its own! 

Winemaker Description

Slightly acid on the palate, giving it a young character. Pleasant and light.

Fresh and fruity, reminiscent of the varieties from which it is made, along with citric aromas.

Serving with Rice fish, Mixed rice, Crustaceans, Molluscan shell, Pasta with pesto sauce, Pasta with tomato sauce, Pasta with creamy sauces, Pasta with marinara sauce, Whitefish, Fish with sauce, Pizza.

Spicy nose with hints of black pepper and scrubland. Licorice, plum, tobacco. On the palate, red plum, cherry, friendly, fresh, very long.

Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo, Syrah and Petit Verdot

The province of Malaga in Andalusia, known mainly for its sweet wines such as Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel, also grows red varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, although to a lesser extent compared to other wine regions. Winemaker Description.

Winemaker Description

Very aromatic, fruity notes stand out over the wood ones. We perceive black fruits such as blackberries and plums alongside with spiced notes, obtained during its time in oak barrels, that bestow elegance. Roasted notes appear gradually as well.  The wine has a great structure and body. It is well-balance and velvety on the mouth. It has a pleasant and long lasting finish.

18 months in French oak barrels. The wine is then finely-tuned in the bottle for a period of six months. For the purpose of preserving every characteristic of the wine, before being bottled, the wine goes through a clarification and stabilization process, followed by a filtration process. Nevertheless, over time, due to the use of very gentle techniques, some natural sediments might appear. 

Winemaker Description 

This new vintage from Camino Romano, is a vintage that has been classified as 'very good' in D.O. Ribera del Duero. Camino Romano has been produced in D.O. Ribera del Duero by Bodegas Dominio Romano.

This wine is a single variety Tinto Fino (100%) grown from a rigorous selection of vines which are between 15 to 30 years old.

As for the production, in order to extract the maximum aromatic potential of the grape, they use "cold soaking", a modern technique that extracts aromas and colour of the wine with little input from the tannins.

Finally, Camino Romano undergoes an aging of 12 months in French and Hungarian oak barrels of 2 and 3 years old.

Winemaker Description

This wine has dark savory fruit with notes of bay, thyme and leather. Firmer structured and chalky on the palate. In typical Bodegas Ponce fashion, La Casilla manages to express the inherent power and structure of Bobal and it's native Manchuela, but goes so with the sort of grace and style that re-calls Cru Beaujolais 

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 

This Amontillado Sherry is a blend of several casks from criaderas housed at a highly respected bodega with roots in the late 1800s. 

Winemaker Description 

Has a peachy nose and a mellow palate, round and gentle with hints of orange peel, nuts and varnish. It could be around 20 years of age, so it's not a super old wine. It's approachable, super clean and defined and a textbook example of the category. This has 19% alcohol.

Expert Review- Vintage 2023

James Suckling 90 Points | Made with organic grapes, muted aromas unfurl in your glass unleashing aromas of strawberry, bacon fat, blackberry, red currant and crushed cranberry. Grippy tannins crave grilled meat on the palate that delivers additional flavors of black olive and cassis. Pair with steak, kebabs and beef Bourgogne. 

Winemaker Description 

Parajes del Valle is a dynamic new winery, founded in 2018 and led by winemaker María Jover, whose experience includes a stint at Vega Sicilia. At just 28, she brings a fresh, modern approach to Jumilla’s winemaking traditions. The winery works exclusively with certified organic Monastrell from old vines (15–40 years), spread across four plots: Fuente de las Perdices, La Cañada de Albatana, and Término de Arriba in northern Jumilla.

These vineyards are maintained under the traditional terraje system, where growers rent the land and return 7% of the harvest in exchange for tending the vines. Though this system sustains many of Jumilla’s oldest vineyards (80–90 years), it is increasingly under threat from modern irrigation practices. Parajes del Valle is committed to preserving terraje, even paying above market price to ensure the highest quality fruit. Fermentation starts in stainless steel before finishing in concrete tanks, allowing the wine to naturally clarify and stabilise over winter.

Winemaker Description

This wine comes from plots of bush-trained vines on poor, sandytextured soils in the Rioja Alta area. The vines are an average of morethan 35 years old and smaller yields. They are harvested with great care and transported to the winery in small containers. Alcoholic fermentation takes place in stainlesssteel tanks at a controlled temperature of 28ºC, with prior bleeding-off and a long maceration of three weeks in contact with theskins. Ageing in French and American oak barrels (90%-10%) over 28 months, followed by subsequent bottle conditioning for at least 4 years until it is leaves the winery.

AWARDS
93 Silver Medal · International Wine Challenge (v. 2011).

90 Puntos · James Suckling (a. 2010).

90 puntos · Guía Repsol (a. 2010).

90 puntos · Wine Spectator (a. 2009).

91 puntos · Wine Enthusiast (a. 2009).

91 puntos · Wine Wine Advocate (a. 2008).

SENSORY EVALUATION

Look: Ruby red with a noticeable rim. Excellent brightness and clarity.

Aroma & palate: On its first contact with oxygen, it appears clean but reticent. Then, sweet notes of oak appear, cinnamon, clove and candied fruits. Infinite nuances that change with the passage of time.

On the palate, it is subtle and pleasant, with great finesse uponentry and through the mid-palate.

The tannins are extremely well polished and it has a serene acidity that maintains a long finish.

SERVING & FOOD PAIRING

White meat, oven-baked fish. Cured meat and dark chocolate desserts. 

93 Silver Medal · International Wine Challenge (v. 2011).

Winemaker Description

Intense and bright in appearance. Pale straw color with attractive highlights. The nose is strong and clean with intensity and finesse from the prolonged aging under flor. Reminiscent of the sea with saline and iodine notes. Extraordinarily dry on the palate but with a smooth and harmonious finish. Subtle salinity and a lingering flavor.

Expert Review

90 Points Wine Spectator | Very high-pitched, with bright chalk, chamomile, salt and lemon seed notes. The vigorous finish has serious cut.