The 2024 Albariño Leirana is from Salnés, Rías Baixas. This aged in stainless steel and foudre. It opens with linden, acacia and floral aromas, with hints of spice and peach. The palate is saline, slender and lively, with...

A concentrated red, with a sense of poise and fine tailoring. Flavors of rooibos tea, licorice root, smoked paprika, and ripe black and red currant are enmeshed with minerally hints of iron and fresh earth and sleek...

The 2022 Garnacha Navaherreros hails from Gredos, a subzone of San Martín de Valdeiglesias. It delivers pure ripe guinda with gentle herbal notes, pomegranate, grenadine and a background of cinnamon. This light-bodied red...

There was a long period of time in which Godello almost went extinct. Today it’s one of the hottest grapes in Spain. The 2024 Godello Old Vines shows why, a 100% varietal wine from vineyards planted between 1900 and 1991...

A bold but poised red, with fine, chalky tannins. Lively acidity lends definition and tension to the panoply of flavors, which partners savory game, espresso, cured tobacco and iron notes with ripe boysenberry, crème de...

The serious 2018 Mengoba Mencía Alicante Bouschet shows the potential of 2018 to produce very fresh reds that are both approachable and deep, complex but easy to understand. I think he has come to a blend that shows the...

If someone told you they kept a wine for 84 years in barrel before bottling, you'd think they are nuts, right? Well, that's what the folks at Toro Albalá in Aguilar de la Frontera - in the province of Cordoba, part of the...

The modern 2019 Real de Asúa has been produced since 2018 with grapes from a paraje in the village of Villalba called Carromaza (now mentioned on the label) on sandy, south-facing soils that were harvested between the 8th...

This bright-red-colored wine offers a bouquet of dark and red berries, anise seed and milk chocolate. It is juicy on entry, with bold cherry and blackberry flavors accompanied by glossy tannins and notes of mocha, caramel...

The 2020 Paixar is the one wine from the portfolio that is completely different from the others and comes from high-altitude vineyards in the zone of Dragonte on slate soils. In 2020 and 2021 they used the whole field...

Opaque ruby. A highly perfumed bouquet evokes red/blue fruit preserves, candied flowers and Asian spices, along with a smoky mineral overtone that gains in volume as the wine opens up. Impressively concentrated yet lively...

The 1946 Don PX Convento Seleccion produced with Pedro Ximenez grapes dehydrated under the sun at the time of the Second World War, was only bottled in September 2011. This is an extreme wine, my first descriptor was...

Brilliant violet color. A highly perfumed bouquet evokes red/blue fruit liqueur, candied flowers and Asian spices, along with a smoky mineral overtone. Impressively concentrated yet lively on the palate, offering...

The 2022 La Bruja de Rozas is 100% Garnacha from Tiétar in the Sierra de Gredos. It was fermented with 100% whole cluster and harvested before the rains came that year. The 2022 opens with red fruit, gentle cherry...

The eponymous red 2022 Ponce was produced with 80% Bobal from granite soils and 20% Moravia Agria from limestone and clay. It fermented with 100% full clusters in open-top 4,500-liter oak vats and finished fermenting and...

The NV Palo Cortado Viejo C.P. is sourced from a Palomino single vineyard planted in the Macharnudo area in Jerez. It underwent barrel fermentation and aged under a veil of flor in an oxidative process using the Criaderas...

Smoky and meaty character here with plums and dark cherries as well as sweet spices and bark. Medium- to full-bodied, with fine, polished tannins. Spicy and dark-fruited. Broad-shouldered and even on the palate with a...

The 2023 Petalos is a smooth, supple, easy-to-drink Mencia made in a refined and elegant style with integrated acidity. Long and lengthy on the palate, this is the wine that set the producers on their mission to show what...

This appealing red shows good focus and fine structure without excessive weight. Flavors of crushed black raspberry, cassis and mountain herbs, plus lots of black pepper, anise and sandalwood accents, expand on the creamy...

My favorite of all the old sweet PXs I tasted this time was the perfumed and showy 1964 Don PX Convento Selección, which still has the wooden label, but it has also been modernized and made easier to read. It is denser...

I like the austerity and seriousness of the 2018 Contador, which has very similar parameters as the 2019 but comes through as fresher and more balanced, with very fine tannins and pungent flavors and a long, dry and...

The 2023 Canela de Viña Cazoga is Mencía from Ribeira Sacra. It opens with an herbal character of mint and pennyroyal, followed by violet and a lightly reductive note of blood orange. Tannins dominate the palate with...

The 2023 Cazama is Mencía from old vines in Amandi in Ribeira Sacra, just outside the DO. It presents black fruit with hints of herbs and soft mint, followed by a touch of reduction. The tannins are reactive, giving a...

Excellent depth, with aromas of wild blueberries, red cherries, lavender and hints of iodine, peppercorns and funk. Tight, stemmy tannins balance the fruitiness, offering a bit of verticality and width with a touch of...

The 2022 Mencía Cardia Seoane is a summum wine from the slate soils of Doade. Aromatically floral, the 2022 shows rose petals, pomegranate, violets and a touch of field herbs on the nose. The palate is delicate yet...

The 2023 Vidal de la Viña Cazoga is Mencía from Amandi, Ribeira Sacra. Intense aromas of blackberry, cherry, white pepper and violet lead to a juicy, grippy palate with medium freshness and lively red fruit. It is...