Weine, ES La Rioja:

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.

92/100 Punkte Guía Peñín 2019

93/100 Punkte Robert Parker June 2019
The single-vineyard red 2016 Camino de Santa Cruz is a wine she wanted to call Rivas de Tereso, but she was not allowed, so she named it after the plot where the grapes grow. It's an aromatic red with intense aromas of violets and the hallmark signature of 2016, and has a surplus of minerality because of the high limestone content of the soils, with some Mediterranean undertones. With time in the glass, it reveals some classical Rioja notes of forest floor, truffle and mushrooms. It fermented in 300-liter amphorae and matured in well-seasoned, neutral 500-liter oak barrels for 12 months. The medium-bodied palate is elegant, and the tannins are round and make it very pleasant and approachable.

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.

93/100 Punkte Robert Parker June 2019
One of two new single-vineyard reds, the 2017 El Espinal comes from a plot in San Vicente de la Sonsierra at 650 meters in altitude, on sandy soils with clay and limestone surrounded by pine trees. The particularity here is that Maturana Tinta (a.k.a. Castests, a relative of Carmenere) was regrafted on Garnacha some 25 years ago, and this is a varietal Maturana, which is quite rare. It fermented in 225-liter barrels and matured in 600-liter barrels for 15 months. There is more concentration and more of everything, including the peppery and herbal aromas, and a pungent note of freshly cracked back peppercorn on the palate. It's a more powerful and long-lived year, and it's impossible to guess as Rioja because the profile is completely Atlantic and would fool almost everybody in a blind tasting. So, it's not for you if you hate the herbal character of the Bordeaux wines. 1,200 bottles were filled in March 2019.

92/100 Punkte Guía Peñín 2018

93/100 Punkte Robert Parker Feb 2018
The eponymous red 2015 Exopto is an atypical blend of 70% Graciano from the south, a grape that can keep very good acidity and ripens nicely in warmer vintages (like 2015) and 30% Tempranillo from old vines. In previous vintages, the wine had less Graciano and some 10% Garnacha, but they didn't like what the Garnacha did to the blend in 2015, so they left it out for the first time ever. It fermented in 1,500-liter oak vats with indigenous yeasts, daily pigéage and malolactic in barrel in the spring. The wine matured in 225- and 500-liter oak casks, and they have reduced the new oak to some 30%. Even though they have reduced the new oak and gone for larger volumes, it's still a little marked by the oak and might need some more time in bottle to finish integrating, because there is very nice stuffing here. It has very healthy acidity that should help it develop nicely in bottle. This is elegant and open, less stressed by tannins, within the power

92/100 Punkte Guía Peñín 2018

93/100 Punkte Robert Parker Feb 2018
The eponymous red 2015 Exopto is an atypical blend of 70% Graciano from the south, a grape that can keep very good acidity and ripens nicely in warmer vintages (like 2015) and 30% Tempranillo from old vines. In previous vintages, the wine had less Graciano and some 10% Garnacha, but they didn't like what the Garnacha did to the blend in 2015, so they left it out for the first time ever. It fermented in 1,500-liter oak vats with indigenous yeasts, daily pigéage and malolactic in barrel in the spring. The wine matured in 225- and 500-liter oak casks, and they have reduced the new oak to some 30%. Even though they have reduced the new oak and gone for larger volumes, it's still a little marked by the oak and might need some more time in bottle to finish integrating, because there is very nice stuffing here. It has very healthy acidity that should help it develop nicely in bottle. This is elegant and open, less stressed by tannins, within the power

93/100 Punkte Robert Parker June 2019
The white has the same name as the entry-level red, and I tasted the 2017 Horizonte de Exopto Blanco. For the white, they have added the grapes from one more plot in the village of Ábalos that's planted exclusively with white grapes (the rest are planted with a majority of red and only individual white vines), and production has grown to 6,000 bottles. Produced in a slightly oxidative way, it's mostly Viura and 10% each Garnacha Blanca and Malvasía Riojana, fermented together in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and finished in barriques. The élevage was in used 225-liter barrels (60% of the volume), concrete eggs (25% and used for the first time) and French oak demi-muids (the remaining 15%) and lasted 12 months. The new thing is the addition of the concrete egg, which seems to have added freshness, tension and aromatic complexity. In fact, the wine makes me think of a cool vintage (and it was not), and the wine is fresh and has great ac

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.

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.

92/100 Punkte Guía Peñín 2019

92/100 Punkte Robert Parker June 2019
A varietal Garnacha from Riva de Tereso, the 2017 La Dula comes from a small 80-year-old plot planted in 1944, so production is extremely low. It's bottled unoaked and matured in amphorae to see what the pure grape delivers. It's fruit-driven and shows some ripeness from a warm and dry year. This tends to have very high acidity, so the grapes are picked late to achieve good ripeness. It fermented in tinaja (amphorae), where it's kept for a few months and then is bottled early. There are perfumed notes, and something herbal/wild that I like. The palate reveals fine-grained tannins and clean flavors. Only 670 bottles produced. It was bottled in November 2018.

94/100 Punkte Robert Parker June 2019
I didn't get the Burgundian nose in the 2016 La Mimbrera that I saw in the 2015. For proprietor and winemaker Tom Puyabert, 2016 is not a truly Atlantic vintage, and this feels somewhat more Mediterranean than the 2015, with notes of rosemary, thyme and even esparto grass, not something I have seen in many other wines from Rioja. The tannins might be amplified by the strong chalky sensation from the high limestone content of the soils, which also impart a special tastiness to the wines. It has a sapid, almost salty finish. There are more tannins, and the wine feels a bit young and in need of some more time in the bottle. 500 bottles were filled in April 2018.

90/100 Punkte James Suckling July 2019
Nice touch of complexity to this red on the nose with walnut, wet-earth and berry character that follows through to a medium-bodied palate, with fine tannins and a tangy, slightly bitter finish. Drink now.

92/100 Punkte James Suckling, December 2016
A deep and beautiful nose of ripe strawberries and hints of dried flowers and soft spices. Medium-bodied with medium, juicy and soft tannins and a long, fresh and fruity finish. Drink now.

91/100 Punkte Vinous Feb 2019
Vivid ruby. Aromas of ripe red and blue fruits, pipe tobacco and cedary oak develop a smoky element as the wine stretches out. Sweet and penetrating on the palate, offering lively cherry and boysenberry flavors and subtle licorice and spice nuances. Finishes on a chewy note, delivering sneaky tannins, a lingering suggestion of dark chocolate and strong persistence.

93/100 Punkte Guía Peñín 2019

93/100 Punkte Vinous Feb 2019
Brilliant ruby-red. An exotically perfumed, expansive bouquet evokes ripe red and blue fruits, cherry liqueur, vanilla and pipe tobacco, energized by a smoky mineral overtone. Sweet and seamless on the palate, offering sweet, concentrated boysenberry, spicecake and mocha flavors that are given spine and lift by a core of juicy acidity. Rich yet energetic in style, displaying excellent finishing clarity, harmonious tannins and a lingering licorice note.

92/100 Punkte Guía Peñín 2019

92/100 Punkte Vinous Feb 2019
(fermented in large French oak casks, followed by 18 months of aging in new French oak barriques) Bright violet. Highly perfumed dark berry, cherry preserve, mocha and vanilla scents are sharpened by building mineral and cracked pepper flourishes. Sweet, seamless and penetrating on the palate, offering juicy cherry cola, blueberry and spicecake flavors that flesh out slowly on the back half. Shows impressive energy and solid dark fruit thrust on the long, gently tannic finish, which shows no rough edges.

91/100 Punkte Robert Parker June 2019
There is a new red from the village of Villabuena de Álava, a warmer place that tends to deliver more Mediterranean wines than the cooler Rivas de Tereso, and the wines are gentler and rounder, with a touch of aromatic herbs. The 2016 Raposo is the first vintage produced from some old plots planted with old vines, Tempranillo with intense flavors (the old vines have other grapes, but they represent a very small percentage) fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured in 3,000-liter oak vats for some 12 months.

92/100 Punkte Vinous Feb 2019
(raised in large, used French oak barrels) Deep, lurid ruby color. An expansive, highly perfumed bouquet evokes ripe red fruits, baking spices, tobacco and potpourri and smoky minerals, with a hint of licorice in the background. Sweet, seamless and penetrating on the palate, offering concentrated raspberry, cherry-cola and spicecake flavors that are underscored by a vein of juicy acidity. Smooth, even tannins build slowly on the impressively long finish, which strongly echoes the red fruit and floral notes.

93/100 Punkte James Suckling August 2018
Plenty of spicy saffron and clove aromas hover over ripe red plums and mulberries. The palate has nice fruit-focus and depth with good tannin-weight and detail. Drink or hold.