The 2020 Valbuena 5º is Tinta del País from Ribera del Duero. Balsamic and herbal aromas mingle with forest, red fruit, cherry, violet and a hint of apple peel on the nose. The palate is intense, with a velvety texture, moderate concentration and enveloping flow. Chalky tannins and a touch of creaminess define the structure. Ample and richly flavored, with subtle oak in the background. A fine example of elegant Ribera. Drink 2025‑2040. Rated 95. ‑ Joaquín Hidalgo, vinous.com June, 2025

The 2020 Valbuena is from a year marked by COVID-19 and lots of rain before the harvest, which resulted in a more ethereal wine, with 14% alcohol, a pH of 3.9 and 4.45 grams of acidity. It was produced with 97% Tinto Fino and 3% Merlot, cooled down for 24 hours and then fermented with indigenous yeasts from a pied de cuve in stainless steel. It matured in barrel and oak vats during the first year, and in the second one, it aged exclusively in oak vats of different sizes, 8,500 and 21,000 liters. In 2020, the wine is finer-boned, more fluid and only medium-bodied, perhaps because of the dilution from the rain; the tannins are fine-grained and polished, but there's less juiciness in the wine. It calls for food. With time in the glass, the wine opens up and becomes more aromatic, and it even seems to gain juiciness and change texture. This is a production of 186,286 bottles, 5,673 magnums and some larger formats. It was bottled in May 2023. Drink 2025‑2037. Rated 95. ‑ Luis Gutiérrez, www.robertparker.com, June, 2025

Deep, brilliant violet. Expansive cherry, blueberry, potpourri and exotic spice qualities on the intensely perfumed nose; vanilla and woodsmoke nuances add complexity. Deep, sweet and focused on the palate, offering powerful red and dark berry compote, lavender pastille and licorice flavors and a suave floral overtone. A spicy nuance gains strength on the long, energetic and youthfully tannic finish, which leaves smoke and mineral notes behind. Drink 2025‑2035. Rated 94. ‑ Josh Raynolds, vinous.com November, 2021. Regularly $67.50 the bottle, on sale now at:

The 2019 Clos Figueres represents a warm and dry vintage with slightly higher ripeness and alcohol at 15.5%. It's a powerful and concentrated red with plenty of tannins and a certain Priorat rusticity, a dusty texture and a mineral sensation of ground slate and graphite. This is a blend of old‑vine Garnacha and Cariñena with some Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Monastrell. It matured in new and second use 500‑liter barrels for 14 to 16 months. 4,685 bottles were filled in February 2021. Drink 2023‑2032. Rated 94. ‑ Luis Gutiérrez, robertparker.com September, 2022. Regularly $100.00 the bottle, on sale now at 25% off:

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.

La Antigua Clásico is one of Alberto Orte's most enduring history projects and shows off a relatively unexplored part of Rioja, the western mountain range of Sierra de la Demanda. Inspired by the style of winemaking that was popular in the first half of the 20th century, Alberto’s winemaking emphasizes freshness and minerality, leading to balanced, long-lived wines. To that end, he has found old vine Garnacha, Tempranillo and Graciano in Sierra de la Demanda, south of the Ebro river in La Rioja Alta. The north‑facing, high‑altitude vineyards receive far less sunshine than those in the valley, resulting in grapes that ripen slowly, showcasing intense flavors of greater balance and focus. This poses quite a risk that only hands‑on viticulture can remedy: this area is one of the last to harvest in all of western Europe, usually in early November. In addition to the cool climate, Sierra de la Demanda's vineyards are extremely scattered and steep. This terrain is impossible to mechanize and all vineyard work must be done by hand. The result is a handcrafted wine of precision and elegance — fresh and beautiful to drink now, with built‑in longevity. Produce of 60% Garnacha, 30% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano vines planted from 1940 to 1955 in limestone and red silica sandy soils at 700 metros (2,296 feet) of elevation. Ruby garnet in color to just tawnier at the edges; mmmm, this wine smells delicious from the start with an overarching vinosidad of fruit magically transformed, with suggestion of dried cherry, violet, tanned leather, sweet oak, regaliz and more (one could admire these fine complex aromas all the day long); cool onto the tongue, medium-bodied with complex and contemplative flavors a welcome reprise of those sublime aromatics, all wrapped in notable velvety tannins and the apparentness of its considerable time aging in oak (Henry noted its its impressive combination of both development and impeccable energy on the palate); yes, a nicely‑aged Rioja can be a thing of beauty, indeed. This wine is the delicious evidence.

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.