A project of Christopher & Charlotte Cannan, René & Isabelle Barbier and Fernando & Marta Zamora, from a single very steep vineyard of 2 hectares (5 acres) planted to 100 plus year old Garnacha vines in the clay-limestone soils of the commune of La Figuera on the northern edge of Montsant looking onto the famous Serra de Montsant itself as well as having spectacular views of the Ebro valley and even the distant Pyrenees 200 kilometres away (hence the name Espectacle). Lovely translucent medium-ruby in color with an alluring, subtly perfumed red-fruited quality à la Chambolle-Musigny or Domaine Charvin (Lindsay noted a savory quality and strawberry fruit leather, she said it reminded her of being back on the farm, not the barnyard, but the carrot field; Henry noted bilberry, dried violet and anise; our winebuyer noted rhubarb); supple on entry, almost Burgundian cool, sophisticated, smooth and silken in texture, but then generating a more southerly warmth with sapid, mostly red berry flavors both elegant and intense with fine pulverized stony jittery tannins stretching the whole thing out long, long on the fine and gently mouthwatering finish. All in all, we are wholly impressed. This is ultra-fine wine on the world stage.

CVNE, aka, Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España, was founded in 1879 in the town of Haro in Rioja by the Real de Asúa brothers, Eusebio and Raimundo and today is still controlled by direct descendants of the founding family. Their first wine was named after its initials, CVNE, later its verbal diminutive, Cune^® (pronounced KOO-nay). Produce of 85% Tempranillo and 15% Garnacha tinta and Mazuelo (Carignane) fruit harvested from their own vineyards in Rioja Alta, the wine is fermented in stainless steel at controlled temperatures, then aged for one year in American oak barrels. Ruby/garnet in color fading to just tawny at the edges; aromas of dark, ripe berries and spice with a kiss of sweet oak and a sense of parched and arid vineyard floor; round and supple on the tongue, medium to medium full in body with just the gentlest underpinning of ripe round tannins to lend structure; and, with just a little air, this opens up nicely to reveal a far more complex wine than its price would ever suggest.

An inspired mingling of 75% Tempranillo, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Syrah, 3% Merlot and 1% Petit Verdot from the Sardón de Duero in Castilla y León in northern Spain. The wine has a certain Iberian quality, to be sure, but with new-world influences, and a sense of a melding of wine and wood (French and American oak) yielding enticing aromas suggesting singed crème caramel, almost savory, saline, cedar, rhubard and red berries; full and rich, well-rounded, substantial, even plush on the tongue, with an engaging minerality and intensity of flavor. Selección especial de hecho.

In centuries gone by, casks of sherry were lashed to ships sailing for the Indies as ballast and were found to develop an extraordinary smoothness and complexity. Lustau has revived this style of sherry in the East India Solera wine, an inspired mingling of about 85% aged dry (20 years old) Oloroso with about 15% aged (10 years old) sweet Pedro Ximenez blended then aged an additional 5 years in the warmest part of the bodega, la sacristia. Raisined fruit, candied citrus peel, macerated cherries, caramel and roasted almonds are common descriptors that we might put forward, but somehow there is something left to be described — an ineffable — as if a benevolent form of alchemy were having its way with an already wonderful raw material. Richly textured and flavorful, just sweet, assuages the tongue whilst giving all its wonderful complexity of flavor.