A fine, place-oriented Rioja with roasted spices and rich but fresh blue fruit. Fine-grained tannins melt away in a long finish loaded with fruit. A little fuller and more structured than the tense 2021. Drink or hold.

An elegant red, with a warm and inviting range of cherry, plum and mulberry fruit flavors enmeshed with refined, limber tannins. There’s a floral edge, with hints of violet and lavender, but also accents of dark...

The 1998 vintage of Monte Real Gran Reserva was a seminal one for this superb bottling, as this was the first year where the wine was composed entirely of tempranillo and saw a bit of its elevage done in French casks...

Deep red-violet in the glass, this wine has a bouquet of cherry, black currant and juniper. Durable tannins coat the palate, bearing flavors of cassis, dark plums, dark chocolate and violet that lead into the spice-filled...

Beautiful, refined, finessed and filled with complexity, this is an example of wine worth waiting for. Flavors of tobacco, licorice, mixed fruits and an aromatic, floral lift. Ample while melting tannins pleasantly coat...

93+ I last had the opportunity to drink the 2016 Rioja “Viña Arana” Gran Reserva a year ago and the wine continues to blossom beautifully. This is a riper vintage for this bottling, tipping the scales at 14.5 percent...

The 2019 Reserva Viña Ardanza is a blend of Tempranillo and Garnacha from Rioja Alta. Its bouquet opens with cherry liqueur, black fruit and balsamic herbs alongside a touch of pepper. Dry, silky and just fresh enough, it...

The 2012 Gran Reserva Especial Castillo Ygay is 81% Tempranillo and 19% Mazuelo from Rioja Alta. Delicate and complex, it delivers aromas of soft mint, fine cherry, red fruit, undergrowth and evolved oaky flavors such as...

The 2020 Rioja “Reserva” from Marqués de Murrieta is just a touch lower in octane than the superb 2021 version, as this vintage the wine comes in at an even thirteen percent alcohol. The wine is crafted in this vintage...

The winery’s flagship, the wine that introduced Muga to the world, the 2021 Muga Reserva is Tempranillo-dominant, with Garnacha, Mazuelo, and Graciano filling in the gaps. A larger-production wine, it offers tremendous...

An understated red, with flavors of chopped black cherry and mulberry, cured tobacco, cedar, and mineral that start off slowly but gain momentum and length on the palate. Framed by polished tannins, this is fluid and...

The minerality offers a thin gauze that veils the notes of chalk, seashells, violets, white pepper, flowers and red and blue berries. Touches of graphite, spices and grapefruit zest as well. The tannins are dusty and...