92/100 Punkte Robert Parker June 2019
The red 2017 Horizonte de Exopto is a traditional blend of Tempranillo with 10% each Garnacha and Graciano, but now not all of grapes come from the village of Ábalos#since 2016, they have added two plots in San Vicente de la Sonsierra. The destemmed and lightly crushed grapes fermented in concrete vats with indigenous yeasts, and the wine matured 50/50 in 600-liter demi-muids and 225-liter barriques for one year. The wine is surprisingly fresh, expressive and aromatic and has a touch of black pepper, perhaps because there are more grapes from higher-altitude vineyards that didn't suffer the frost, and the result might be fresher than some wines from 2016 or 2015. The move to bigger barrels and less oak seems to have paid back with much better integration of the wood and additional nuance. A great effort for the vintage and a bit of a surprise#lighter and less concentrated but more drinkable. 9,000 bottles were filled in November 2018.

94/100 Punkte James Suckling, July 2019
This is a beautiful play between fresh blackberries, violets and lavender and dried meat, vanilla and spices. Iodine, licorice and tar all in there, too. Full body, muscular yet grainy tannins and layer after layer of plush fruit, wrapped up neatly in tangy acidity. Drink in 2022.

93/100 Guía Peñín 2017

92/100 Punkte Robert Parker August 2016
The eponymous 2014 Exopto has an unusual blend, as it's mostly Graciano with 30% Tempranillo and 10% Garnacha. Sometimes Graciano does not ripen properly in cool vintages, so this cuvée was not produced in 2013. In 2014 they did a green harvest and lowered the yields to ensure proper ripening, even in a late and cooler vintage. It fermented in 1,500-liter oak vats with malolactic in barrel the following spring. The upbringing was in 50% new French oak barrels and lasted 18 months, the first six of which with the fine lees, which were not stirred. They managed a good ripening, harvesting quite late into early October. This wine mixes grapes from the warmer and cooler zones of Rioja, so it mixes the characters with focus in the Graciano. It is balsamic and aromatic, with aromas of peppercorns and a core of black fruit. The palate is serious, with depth and silkiness, as well as polished tannins; it is ready for a long life ahead. It could be d

92/100 Punkte Robert Parker June 2019
The 2016 El Espinal is a Maturana Tinta produced in a joint venture with Miguel Ángel Mato, who owns the vineyard in San Vicente de a Sonsierra and works with his horse for others like the Eguren family and Benjamín Romeo. This is the first vintage of this unusual wine made from vines regrafted from Garnacha to Maturana Tinta. I also tasted the 2017 next to this 2016 from a higher-yielding year; the wine had a shorter élevage (12 months in barrel), as the wine is a bit lighter. They didn't really want the green pepper the variety can easily deliver and waited a bit longer to pick the grapes and get aromas of white pepper, bay leaf and licorice, and this has less herbal notes than the 2017. It mixes some dark cherries with those varietal notes. This is drinking nicely today and might not be as long lived as the 2017.

91/100 Punkte Robert Parker June 2019
The just-bottled red 2018 Bozeto de Exopto is a superb young and fruit-driven blend of 50% Tempranillo and 40% Garnacha with a 10% pinch of Graciano to add freshness. The destemmed but uncrushed grapes fermented in stainless steel, concrete and oak containers with indigenous yeasts and matured for six months, the Garnacha in concrete, the Tempranillo in oak vats and a blend of Tempranillo and Graciano in well-seasoned barriques. 2018 was clearly a cool, Atlantic vintage (as opposed to Mediterranean vintages), and the grapes ripened slowly; some of the grapes (the Garnacha) were harvested later than ever. This juicy and fruit-driven young red is aromatic and more fluid, fresher and approachable. The palate is fresh and light, a wine to enjoy without moderation! 75,000 bottles produced make this 75% of the production of the winery. It was bottled in April 2019.

90/100 Punkte James Suckling, July 2019
An early-drinking style of Rioja with loads of energetic primary fruit, ranging from citrus to raspberries to fresh herbs. Bright, soft and fruity on the finish. Drink now.