Spain

Comando G’s Rumbo Al Norte Garnacha – Tasting a Mini-Vertical of the Most Collectable Single Vineyard Garnacha in the World…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

“Comando G, apart from being a cartoon series from the 1980s (known as Gatchaman in English), is also Comando Garnacha (Garnacha Command), a couple of friends convinced that they can produce some of the best Garnacha wines in the world from the Gredos mountain range. What started as a pastime has become the point of reference for the area, one of the main advocates for bringing back Garnacha, and also one of the most exciting success stories in the Spanish wine world over the last decade.” – Luis Gutierrez in The New Vignerons (Planeta Gastro) 2017.

A Comando G line up at the Winery.

Comando G is the brainchild of Daniel Gómez Jiménez-Landi and Fernando García. When they started in 2008, there was initially a third partner in the company – Marc Isart. Daniel, Fernando and Marc all grew up in the 1970s and 1980s with legendary cartoons such as Mazinger Z, Heidi, Marco and Gatchaman (Comando G in Spain). When the time came to give a name to their project, they set up their own fictional series, Comando Garnacha, which would eventually be responsible for producing some of the best Garnacha wines in the world. After all, there aren’t that many world class wines made exclusively from Garnacha grapes… Chateau Rayas in Chateauneuf-du-Pape probably being the most famous internationally.

Daniel Landi pouring his Comando G wines in London with his importer Les Caves de Pyrene.

Daniel Landi started his career in 2004 at Jiménez-Landi, the old family winery in the village of Méntrida, where he gradually found his way from Tempranillo, Syrah and Merlot to some magnificent top-class Garnachas from the Gredos area. In the early days, Comando G was a 5,000-bottle hobby project with a lot of potential.

The Rumbo Al Norte vineyard – Pictures by Riaan Potgieter, the Judgement of Wimbledon Grenache Tasting Convenor of judges.

Fernando and Daniel worked around the clock to make great wines and grow the project. They sought minerality, freshness and elegance in their wines through biodynamics and by revitalizing the vineyards by returning to old traditions. Their conviction is that “great wines are grown, not made.” They are winegrowers devoted to their land, who understand Garnacha and work with whole clusters. At the time of launching Comando G, as well as until quite recently, Garnacha was looked down upon as an inferior cultivar. In villages in the Gredos area, such as San Martín de Valdeiglesias and Cebreros or Méntrida, most wine was sold off in bulk. Gredos as we know it today simply did not exist.

The geographical zone of Gredos is split between three different provinces (Ávila, Madrid and Toledo) belonging to three different regions (Castilla y León, Madrid and Castilla – La Mancha), and three appellations of origin – Vinos de Madrid, Méntrida in Toledo, and Ávila, which falls under the generic appellation of Vinos de la Tierra de Castilla y León. Comando G, together with the majority of producers in Gredos, set up an association called Garnachas de Gredos with the aim of correcting the mistake of taking a political rather than geographical approach to the appellations. 

70+ year old Garnacha vines in Rumbo Al Norte vineyard.

With firm proposal to create the Sierra de Gredos appellation, Comando G suddenly found themselves alone in this endeavour as most of the growers in the Ávila part of Gredos opted for the creation of a new appellation within their province, calling it Cebreros after the village with the most land under vine there. Despite this, Comando G, given their totally terrorist approach, wanted to explain and label their wines showing their geographical origin rather than their political one. So, after all, Sierra de Gredos is simply “the appellation that could have been.’

Daniel Landi eventually left the family winery in 2012 due to differences in opinion on how to run the business, leaving behind a brand built over years of hard work in the global market, keeping just a small personal project called Dani Landi which produces just over 15,000 bottles between four reds produced from the seven hectares under vine which he owns in different villages. Las Uvas de la Ira comes from a mixture of Garnacha from El Real de San Vicente, while there are three single-vineyard reds, all Garnacha but from diverse locations, soils and with different profiles: Cantos del Diablo, also from El Real de San Vicente, El Reventón from slate-textured soils in Cebreros, and the most recent, Las Iruelas, also from slate soils in the village of El Tiemblo in the province of Ávila.

In a short space of time, Comando G went from being Dani and Fer’s hobby to becoming their main project. Since 2012, the year they built a small, simple winery in Cadalso de los Vidrios, this became their permanent project. With no plans for new wines beyond the current range, their work now focuses on a better interpretation of the vintages and a better knowledge of each of their vineyards. Work in the vineyard is key. At Comando G, they produce up to 75,000 bottles, all sold out on allocation. Production quantities vary significantly by cuvée and vintage conditions, but the below is a good rough guide:

  • Village Wines: (e.g., ‘La Bruja de Rozas’): This is their highest-volume wine, with approximately 40,000 to over 56,000 bottles produced in recent vintages (e.g., 56,487 bottles in 2022, 40,943 in 2023).
  • Premier Cru Wines: (e.g., ‘Rozas 1er Cru’, ‘La Breña 1er’): Production is more limited, with volumes around 5,000 to 15,000 bottles per wine (e.g., 15,238 bottles of Rozas 1er Cru in 2018; 874 bottles of the first vintage of La Breña).
  • Grand Cru / Single-Vineyard Wines: (e.g., ‘Rumbo al Norte’, ‘El Tamboril’): These are the most limited and exclusive, with production often well under 2,000 bottles per year (e.g., 1,712 bottles of Tumba del Rey Moro in 2021, and less than 2,000 bottles of Rumbo al Norte).

The plot they named Rumbo al Norte, a piece of land which faces north in the tiny village of Navarrevisca (Ávila) at 1,200 meters above sea level, is one of the most striking vineyards conceivable. The landscapes in some parts of the Gredos mountains and the province of Ávila is scattered with Granite boulders, conjuring up images of giants playing with Granite marbles and their game has been interrupted and they’ve left them scattered, as if they didn’t have time to tidy up. Rumbo al Norte itself means ‘heading north’ and in this unique site, vines can be found amongst the huge boulders, tucked into the most unlikely spaces. In this unique, cool north-facing plot of 0.3 hectares in the area called La Breña, the soils are shallow decomposed Granite and Sandstone planted with 70-year-old Garnacha vines. Historically, there was no clonal selection used so the vines are a mixture of clones making them all slightly different as well as being a mixture of younger and older vines as dead plants were replanted over time. Due to the small size of the plot with a marginal climate, only around 1,000 bottles are produced each vintage. The conditions result in grapes with high acidities, making fresh, vibrant, mineral laden wines with moderate alcohol levels.

The Rumbo Al Norte Vertical line up.

Comando G Vino de Parcela Rumbo Al Norte 2010, Villanueva de Avila, Sierra de Gredos, Spain

Sadly Corked. No Score.

Luis Gutierrez inspecting the corked 2010 Rumbo Al Norte.

Comando G Vino de Parcela Rumbo Al Norte 2013, Villanueva de Avila, Sierra de Gredos, Spain

Cooler vintage.

Stewed strawberry compote, red plum and pithy red currant. Deep and dense, there is incredible structure and focus, tight, mineral and with gravelly tannins, glassy red and black berry fruits, with a long, granitic, dried herb finish. Serious effort, taut, tight and young.

(Wine Safari Score: 96+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Comando G Vino de Parcela Rumbo Al Norte 2015, Villanueva de Avila, Sierra de Gredos, Spain

Warm vintage.

Sweet opulent nose of Seville oranges, violets, pink musk, cherry blossom and bramble berry spice. Silky and smooth, this has a certain ease and elegance, soft creamy supply dry mineral tannins and long, focused finish.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Comando G Vino de Parcela Rumbo Al Norte 2016, Villanueva de Avila, Sierra de Gredos, Spain

Cooler vintage.

This shows a broody, earthy lavender note, with spicy red currant and pithy forest strawberry compote notes. Cool vintage on display here revealing intense, tighter, silkier tannins. Simply superb.

(Wine Safari Score: 99/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Comando G Vino de Parcela Rumbo Al Norte 2017, Villanueva de Avila, Sierra de Gredos, Spain

Warm, hot year. 

This shows an intriguing melange of dusty gravel, dried herbs, gravel, dried herbs and dried orange peel. The palate is structured and mineral, focused, taut and tight but slowly opening its grip on this tight vintage. Finish is mineral, austere in comparison and stony, but certainly imposing.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Comando G Vino de Parcela Rumbo Al Norte 2018, Villanueva de Avila, Sierra de Gredos, Spain

Cool year.

The 2018 is a complex offering of struck flint, smoky herbs, green leaf, and picante notes of red and black berry fruits. The texture is impressive, silky, polished and quite fine, laden with bramble berry fruit complexity, stewed strawberry, and liquid mineral slatey tannin finish.

(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Comando G Vino de Parcela Rumbo Al Norte 2020, Villanueva de Avila, Sierra de Gredos, Spain

Slightly unusual, dry & warm vintage.

A frenetic wine, fragrant and complex, rich, mineral, and taut. This is still an embryo, fragrant, perfumed and fine grained, delicately fruited but plenty of minerality, gravel and granitic spice. Not showing its best, super young but plenty of age worthy potential.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Many thanks to Luis Gutierrez for joining the Rumbo Al Norte vertical tasting in London in 2025.

The Annual Judgement of Wimbledon Blind Tasting 2025 – A Celebration of Glorious Grenache…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

The world of fine wine is an ever-evolving scene, enriched by a wealth of passionate wine producers but equally by a profusion of passionate wine connoisseurs and collectors all championing different styles of wine. I for one however, cannot think of another category of wine that has in recent years come under more intense scrutiny than that of Grenache or Garnacha Tinta, producing many wines that now sit comfortably at the fine wine top table in the global marketplace. Now in its 9th year, the Judgement of Wimbledon was originally organised by a group of passionate collectors to celebrate the finest expressions of Grenache from various premium producers around the world.

The 2025 blind line up.

On the 1st of May 2025, the time had finally come for the next scintillating instalment of this annual blind tasting challenge. After much deliberation, including many smaller preliminary comparative blind tastings and cork pulling, 16 wines were chosen to make the starting grid for the 2025 judgement tasting. This year’s selection included: three wines from DOC Priorat, two wines from Gredos, two from Aragon, one from DO Montsant, one from DOC Rioja, one from Sardinia, three from Australia, and three from the Swartland in South Africa.

In last years Judgement report, I stated that almost all the big name, big money Grenache wine labels made in a more “sophisticated, terroir-driven style” seemed to be coming from the Spanish heartlands, with many producers making multiple micro-winery boutique labels from old vine plots of Garnacha that in many instances were often abandoned and nearly forgotten and lost for future generations. Grapes that used to be sold off to local co-operatives for below-cultivation cost prices, are now finally being rediscovered with a newly found appreciation for these cherished old vine plots. For the 2025 Judgement tasting, the line-up once again saw a very strong showing from Spain and South Africa, but with this year’s selection featuring a trio of impressively finessed Grenache reds from down under, including one from the Barossa Valley and two from McLaren Vale.

Australian wine has, over the past few years, seen many premium producers begin to reinvent their styles, moving away from the “sunshine in a bottle” mantra, instead embracing minerality, restraint, elegance and freshness, all features that allow for a vineyard’s individual and unique site and terroir characteristics to shine through. Indeed, after the 2024 Judgement tasting, there was a fair amount of parallel commentary surrounding the clear lack of Australian selections, something I feel has been comfortably addressed within the 2025 line-up.

Wine Advocate lead Spanish wine critic Luis Gutierrez.

After Neal Martin from Vinous.com joined the judging panel in 2024, this year, the judges were incredibly fortunate and honoured to be join by possibly one of the world’s emerging critical authorities on premium Grenache, and undoubtedly the one international wine critic that has done more single handedly to champion not only the incredible diversity of Garnacha styles from his home country of Spain, but arguably from all around the world. I speak of course of The Wine Advocate’s lead wine critic for Spain and Portugal, Luis Gutiérrez. The insights, background stories, and tasting expertise offered by Luis made the 2025 Judgement tasting one of the best yet.

Judgement of Wimbledon 2025 Blind Tasting Line Up: 

(…featuring my personal blind scores and tasting notes.)

Wine 1 – 2022 Sands of Time, Thistledown, McLaren Vale, Australia

Dense and ripe, pretty, floral hints of rose petal, red liquorice, brambled berries, mint leaf, chocolate peppermint crisp and red plums. Initially quite deep, broody and restrained. The palate is plush, fleshy but very fine grained, showing depth of bramble berry fruits, vibrant tangy acids, and a gently savoury, strawberry laden accessible finish with a hint of alcohol warmth on the tail. 

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wine 2 – 2022 Sadie, Soldaat, Piekenierskloof, South Africa

Shows a fine exotic perfume, violets, incense, Turkish delight, plum compote and smoky Turkish bazaar nuances. There are earthy deep broody notes showing plummy meaty foresty hints. Accessible, sweet fruited and quite earthy and brambly, this is full of meaty red currant and strawberry compote, soft fleshy tannins, and a relaxed, lingering finish.

(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wine 3 – 2021 Yangarra Estate, High Sands Grenache, McLaren Vale, Australia

A fine aromatic lift with plenty of perfume and fragrance but also a defined mineral undertones over picante black berry fruits. Plenty of minerality and dry stony tannins supported by fairly light sinewy red and black fruits. Plenty of density, concentration, and emerging power on display.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wine 4 – 2022 Frontonio, El Jardín de las Iguales, Aragon, Spain

The aromatics show an accessible, attractive perfume of musk, Parma violets, wild strawberry, red cherry rock candy and a hint of oystershell reduction. The entry is cool and fleshy, fulsome, tangy, and fresh but with plump creamy red berry and red plum notes beneath. Finish is tight, a little clipped but seems to have plenty more to offer given time.

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wine 5 – 2022 Alvaro Palacios, Quinon de Valmira, DOC Rioja Spain

Another broody, earthy bramble berry character with hints of plums and mulberry before savoury meaty nuances with a dusty granitic undertone. The palate is incredibly soft, fleshy, and accessibly, loose knit and friendly, the tannins mineral and chalky, over spicy red berry fruits with juicy acids but perhaps finishing a little abruptly.

(Wine Safari Score: 93+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wine 6 – 2020 Torres, Mas de la Rosa, DOC Priorat, Spain

A richer, more intense aromatics showing cherry tobacco, tannery leather, stewed strawberries, and dried herb garrigue spice. This is a full, rich, plump expression with massive concentration, tart blue and black berry fruits, a creamy mineral undertone with a long, glycerol finish. Plenty of finesse and polished winemaking on display here.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wine 7 – 2022 Terroir al Limit, Les Manyes, DOC Priorat, Spain

The pretty aromatics are decidedly blacker fruited with black currant, dry tobacco leaf, salinity, hints of herbaceous leafy berry fruit notes with a mineral granitic undertone. The palate follows with savoury, smoky, toasty, meaty black bramble berry fruits, a loose knit structure, light polished tannins and an all-round accessible friendliness.

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wine 8 – 2022 Mas Martinet, Els Escurcons, DOC Priorat, Spain

The aromatics are fresh and spicy, packed full of dried herbs, potpourri, cinnamon and clove spices with tangy red currant and candied strawberry fruits beneath. The mouthfeel is rich, plush, and superbly fleshy and plump, broad across the palate but always soft and juicy with dusty, chalky fine-grained tannins.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wine 9 – 2022 Momento, Riebeekberg Grenache, WO Swartland, South Africa

This is a more ethereal, taut, linear style with pure perfumed aromatics of red cherry and strawberry with a dusting of granitic mineral spice. On the palate this wine shows class and pedigree, creamy, limestone chalky tannins, polished sleek red berry fruits and real harmonious balance. A lighter, more delicate, ethereal style that delivers in spades.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wine 10 – 2021 Teularju, Ghirada Ocruarana, Sardina, Italy

This is a decidedly riper, more opulent style with layers of stewed black berries, creamy oak, molasses, sun raisined plums and sweet herbs, graphite, and sappy wood spice. A warmer, baked fruit expression that points towards later picked fruit in a warmer climate. The execution is faultless, the tannins like velvet, perfectly marrying with a soft, integrated, seamless acidity. No edges, no corners, this is plush hedonistic opulence.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wine 11 – 2021 Rico Nuevo, La Quebrá, Gredos, Spain

Beautifully bright, aromatic, perfumed red currant and red cherry perfume with subtle potpourri, garrigue and marzipan hints, strawberry pastille, and hints of rock candy. This shows delicate frame and structure but also silky finesse, violets and potpourri, blood orange, talcum tannins and a long, steely, linear finish.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wine 12 – Dylan Grigg 2022 Vinya Vella, Old Bush Vine Grenache, Barossa Valley, Australia

A more classical style with sweet herbs, earthy black currant fruits, leafy sapidity, gravel and a peppery garrigue spice. The palate is silky and soft, light, fleshy and accessibly with delicately drying talcum tannins beneath, finishing with a lingering bramble berry, garrigue, meaty spice. Very classy expression.

(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wine 13 – 2022 Cuevas de Arom, Tuca Negra, Aragon, Spain

Initially incredibly dusty and mineral on the nose, even slightly leafy, with crushed gravel, chalkboard duster, and a whole bunch red berry picante spice. The spicy, dried herb, garrigue expression blossoms further on the palate, packed full of leafy spice, sandalwood, baking herbs and tobacco leaf, wrapped in cool, chalky, powdery tannins.

(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wine 14 – 2021 Naude, Grenache, Swartland, South Africa

A deep and alluring expression with blue and black berry fruits, hints of creamy oak, saline cassis and fragrant rose petal perfume that points to a fine concentrated style. Another very sleek expression on the palate with dusty, chalky drying tannins and intense red berry fruits that are enticingly lean and sinewy, before the tangy acidity fans its tail on the finish.

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wine 15 – 2022 Comando G, El Tamboril, Gredos, Spain

A more exotic, ripe, earthy, nutty, spicy style with bay leaf, clove, potpourri, and a medicinal herbal nuance. The palate follows with breadth and power, creamy supple dry tannins and a very open knit, chalky mineral finish. This is a beautifully subtle expression, that whispers but certainly carries a bit of a punch.

(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)


Wine 16 – 2021 Venus la Universal, Venus de La Figuera, Spain

An accessible overt style that shows sweet Christmas herbs, sappy spice, exotic black berry, bathroom soaps and pink musk candy. No doubting the pedigree when this wine hits the palate, boasting silky opulence, huge concentration, plush chalky expansive tannins, wrapping fruit concentration and exceptional length. This is certainly a winemaking masterclass on display.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The Judgement of Wimbledon 2025 Group Blind Ranking Results: 

With all judges required to offer their final rankings from their favourite to least favourite, numbered from 1 to 16, with the largest score tally going to the top ranked wines which were then all added together to get a final 1 to 16 group ranking by preference points. This format saw Rico Nuevo’s new stylish Gredos place top alongside Comando G’s El Tamboril, followed closely by Judgement newcomer Marelise Niemann’s Momento Single Vineyard Riebeekberg Grenache tied with strong annual performer, Mas Martinet’s Els Escurons from Priorat in Spain. 

The Judges’ Totals by “Preference”

However, using just a straight score ranking by averaging all the judges 100-point scores, interestingly saw the Momento single vineyard Grenache topping the averages with an impressive 96.19/100 score. So a slightly different dynamic to that of the judges’ favourite to least favourite choices which of course could easily see 3, 4 or even 5 different wines sitting on the same score of 94 or 95 points etc. However, judges were then required to retaste the matching scored wines and still order them in a preference from 1 to 16.

The Judgement’s highest scored wines by averaging judges’ scores.
Convenor of Judges, Riaan Potgieter (on the right) crunching the numbers after the blind tasting.

Judgement of Wimbledon Convenor of Judges, Riaan Potgieter’s Final Conclusions:

At the outset of planning this year’s event, I wasn’t sure how we were going to bring some excitement to the day. We were facing a warm 2022 in both Spain and South Africa, and many producers were telling me that the wines weren’t ready yet. This was exacerbated by a few of our favourites being released later than usual, and therefore not available for the event. In the end, we had nothing to worry about as the 2022s acquitted themselves very well and showed better than previous warm vintages did at a similar stage. 

Clearly producers are getting more and more skilful at managing the heat, with most of the wines showing grace and elegance whilst bringing edgy herbal characteristics you don’t get in cooler vintages. A Spanish producer once told me that the warmer vintages are difficult to understand in their youth, but really start to shine after a few years in bottle. Whilst I can certainly attest to this, it seems the 2022s might be able to capture some of that magic much earlier in life.

The top 3 Grenache winners by Judges’ preference.

With a few of our usuals being unavailable, there was space to bring in a few first entrant wines and producers, some of whom I’ve been tracking for some time. Whilst we have tasted their wines for possible inclusion in the past, they have gone from strength to strength in recent vintages and their inclusion became an easy choice. This showed in the final results, with two first time entrants making it into the top 3 wines.

The Judgement of Wimbledon 2025 judges.

One star performer was the Rico Nuevo La Quebrá. I was introduced to this young producer on a trip to Spain in 2024, and loved the wine from the first taste. The Wimbledon judges didn’t know it was in the lineup, and most have never even tasted it, yet it was enchanting and ended up near the top for most. Luis Gutiérrez ranked it his favourite and exclaimed that he “loved it from the first sip to the last.”

Marelise Niemann from Momento pouring her wines in London in recently.

Another strong new entrant was the Momento Riebeekberg Grenache. Whilst we’ve been following Marelise Niemann’s wines for many years, the 2022 single site expressions have taken her Grenache to a whole new level. It ended up 3rd based on ranked preference, but achieved the highest average score across the group.

Generous venue host and fellow judge Barry Van Bergen deep in discussion with Luis Gutierrez.

Finally, a massive thank you to Luis Gutiérrez for joining us at this year’s event. His work has always been our spiritual guide through the exciting world of this, still relatively new, style of Grenache. It was an absolute pleasure to have him there to share the joy of these incredible wines. Signing off for 2025, and I am already looking forward to next year where, I’m sure, there will be even more new discoveries.

Final Judgement of Wimbledon 2025 Results Summary:

A big congratulations to all the producers who are championing elegant, terroir driven, premium Grenache globally. We salute you!

Until next year… that’s a wrap! 🍷

(Ps. If you are a Grenache producer who would like to see your wines considered for the Judgement of Wimbledon 2026 final tasting next year, please do get in touch via my website.)

The Premium Jewel of DO Pla de Bages in Spanish Catalonia – Exploring the Wines of the Can Serra dels Exibis Winery…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

The Spanish territory of Catalonia is comprised of four provinces, namely Barcelona, Girona, Lleida and Tarragona. Together, these provinces occupy over 30,000 square kilometres in the north-eastern corner of Spain (bordering France and Andorra) and are home to some seven and a half million people. Catalonia is one of a few regions in Spain, such as the Basque Country and Galicia, which has its own language apart from Castilian Spanish. Within Catalonia, you will find one of the most historic and elaborate histories of grape growing and winemaking that stretches back to Roman times and beyond.

While many international wine critics have visited the historical vineyards of Catalonia, especially its more famous wine regions of Priorat, Tarragona and Terra Alta, clustered west of the Catalan capital Barcelona, and Emporda and Alella further east, few of them tend to venture a mere 50km, just an hour and a half northwest up into the mountainous region near the city of Manresa, where you will find the small but increasingly influential Denominacion de Origen Protegida (DOP) of Pla de Bages.

The Exibis winery north east of Manresa.

One of the smallest DOPs in Spain, covering less than 500 hectares of vines (1,186 acres), it is also one of the newest denominacions having only acquired its official status in 1995. Consisting of only 16 wineries that produce just under 3,800 hectolitres of wine, you wouldn’t realise that this region used to be one of the most viticulturally significant areas of Spain in the pre-phylloxera 19th century when vineyards located in the valleys of the Llobregat and Cardener rivers and their weaving tributaries, numbered closer to 27,700 hectares in 1890. After being decimated by phylloxera which took hold in the Pla de Bages region in 1889, it would take almost a hundred years until the region properly resurrected its true winemaking heritage.

Today, 27 different municipalities are entitled to use the designation ‘DO Pla de Bages’ many of which encircle the city of Manresa. Splendid isolation is the word that comes to mind when you consider that this is one of Catalonia’s least densely populated regions. The climate in Pla de Bages is a mixture of Mediterranean and Continental influence with hot summers and cold winters as standard, with around 550 to 600mm of annual rainfall per year, something almost on par with Stellenbosch in South Africa.

Vineyards around the Exibis winery.

Vineyard locations, and the corresponding grape-growing conditions are defined by two distinct types of terroir – The central basin at an altitude of 200m, which has predominantly clay-based soils and is slightly warmer in the growing season, and then the Alt Bages (Upper Bages), which lies at over 500m above sea level and is generally the cooler part of the vineyards with a significant amount of lime in its soils that helps retain moisture during the hot summer months. Another key to high quality grape growing is the significant diurnal temperature variations that help both the red and white cultivars retain their all-important acidity levels while developing flavour complexity, with an annual average temperature of only 13C (maximum 35C and minimum -5C).

The dramatic mountains around DO Pla de Bages.

Having myself also only visited all the famous wine regions to the west of Catalonia, I recently decided to explore this intriguing region of DO Pla de Bages, arranging a visit to the Can Serra dels Exibis winery that I firmly believe is producing some of the most exciting wines in the DO at the moment. Quite fortuitously for me, the founder, co-owner and winemaker, Joan Soler, who is a qualified agronomist and oenologist, used to be the president of the Pla de Bages designation of origin. A man with many talents, superb English, and a never-ending energy, Joan somehow also enthusiastically manages to consult to a number of other local wineries and artisanal projects that produce a wide array of unique wines, more often than not, using indigenous local cultivars.

Sumoll vineyard near the Exibis winery with traditional training on a pole.

Exibis is located between Cardona, with its castle and the salt mountain (must be seen to be believed!); Montserrat, the mountain of spiritual and geological reference; and Sant Benet de Bages, which typifies the expansion of the vineyards through the monastic influence in the region. With the Pyrenees lurking ever presently on the horizon in the north and Barcelona just over one hour to the southeast, Exibis is perfectly situated within the DO.

Joan Soler showing me the latest Exibis vintages still in tank.

Located at 500 metres in altitude, the Exibis winery was started in 2009 and has thrived while Joan has attempted to resurrect the historical wine making practices of the past, which inevitably involved rediscovering lost or abandoned vineyards of indigenous varieties that were once cultivated so successfully by his ancestors, but which are now being improved with the use of modern organic and biodynamic agricultural principals. 

Old Vine Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard over 80+ years old that Joan uses for his Blunt Cuvee.

Speaking to Joan while wandering though his high-altitude vineyards, I loved how he expressed his winemaking philosophy so simply… “to make wines that represent our history as well as our future. But above all, they are the present.” With this sympathetic mindset, Exibis focuses on cultivating both local cultivars like indigenous white Picapoll, red Sumoll, Mandó and Garnacha Tinta, as well as accepted international cultivars like Cabernet Sauvignon, to make “wines that express their terroir as well as the variety, balanced and each with its own unique personality.”

One of the 14th century Tines fermentation tanks carved into a boulder that’s still being used today.

After visiting several of their replanted vineyards, we returned to the Can Serra dels Exibis winery, located on one of the oldest farmhouses in the municipality of Castelladral, thought to have been built in the High Middle Ages during the reconquest of central Catalonia in the 10th century. With the modest winemaking facilities housed in a simple but effect neighbouring modern warehouse, we proceeded to taste through a selection of young wines in tank before moving on to a full range tasting of current release bottled wines.

Joan pulling barrel samples from the barrel cellar.

“Sumoll is a bit like Nebbiolo, thin in the mouth but beautifully powerful and intense with a low pH, rustic but then emerges as a very friendly wine on the persistent finish.” ~ Joan Soler

“Our Mandó is fermented in amphorae and our Sumoll in open topped six-year-old 300 litre oak barrels, before being blended in tank. A wonderful marriage.” 

Myself with Anthony Crameri, one of the winery’s export agents, alongside Exibis co-owner Joan Soler.

A Rough Guide to Recent DO Pla de Bages Vintages:

2018 – Rainy fresh vintage making wines with goodfinal ripeness. 

2019 – Warm vintage but generally a good, regular year of high quality. 

2020 – May / June / July moving to a drier harvest time. But a much cooler, wetter year than compared to nearby Bordeaux. 

2021 – A cool, fresh, well-balanced year. 

2022 – Hot and dry year making ripe, good quality wines.

2023 – A hot and even drier year than 2022 but still produced wines with good freshness thanks to good diurnal temperature fluctuations.

Exibis Valentina d’Exibis 2023, DO Pla de Bages, 13% Abv. 

A blend of 80% Macabeo and 20% Picapoll with a 20% portion of the Macabeo barrel fermented, the rest stainless steel tank fermented before blending and bottling after a light bentonite fining. This shows a deep complex aromatics full of earthy root vegetables, children’s plasticine, dried fennel seeds, buttered white toast, and subtle kerosene and waxy nuances. On the palate the wine is delightfully bright and energetic, packed full of tangy acids, dried orange peel, wet straw, white peach and lemony citrus pastille that ties in nicely to the slight kerosene hints on the nose. Really a very characterful expression from its second vintage of production. Drink now and over the next 3 to 5+ years. 

(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Cellers Underground Pura Vida 2023, Costers del Segre, 13% Abv. 

A blend of 40% Garnacha Blanca, 40% Macabeo and a 20% barrel fermented Chardonnay portion. Displays deliciously enticing aromatics of lemon and herbs, melted butter on grilled sweetcorn, sweet green herbs, pear puree, lemon pastille and subtle notes of almond skins and marzipan. The entry is fleshy and vibrant, the acids energetic and fresh – a wine that really speaks to you of its terroir. There’s impressive breadth and palate depth, pithy phenolics but also a long finish of picante green apple and crunchy pear fruits. Really quite an accomplished white blend. Drink now and enjoy its evolution over 5 to 8+ years. 

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Tasting the 2024 Les Tines from tank.

Exibis Les Tines 2023, DO Plages de Bages, 13.5% Abv.

All components are unoaked except for a 15% portion of the previous year’s 2022 cuvée that is blended back in after a further 12 months of ageing in used 300 litre French oak barrels. A blend of Mandó, Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnacha Tinta and Sumoll, with 33% of the whole cuvee aged in sandstone hollowed ‘Tines’ tanks carved by locals in the 13th and 14th century. The blend reveals a deep rich expression of wet stone minerality, black berry fruits, sweet sappy oak, and a lactic blueberry complexity. On the palate, the acids are bright and pithy alongside saline, mineral black currant and pithy bramble berry fruits, kissed with a smoky, dusty mineral wet stone intensity. This is an energetic gourmet-friendly wine that is pithy and superbly bright, offering up an enjoyable energy in its youth. Drink now and over the next 5 to 8+ years.

(Wine Safari Score: 92/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Tasting the current vintages from bottle with Joan Soler.

Exibis La Rasa 2020, DO Pla de Bages, 15% Abv.

A blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Sumoll and 10% Mandó. The blend is made, and the wine is aged for 12 months in 300 litre French oak barrels with a 10% to 15% new oak portion. The aromatics are wonderfully bold and intense, brazenly sweet fruited, showing raisined black cherry, black plum and opulent notes of mint chocolate pralines. The texture and mouthfeel are vibrant and invigorating, the acids tangy, nervy but deliciously vivacious. This is a beautifully complete wine, full of broody dark fruits, a vital freshness and pithy fine grained grippy tannins. Modern-styled and pure in essence but retains a hint of Pla de Bages mountain wildness to it. Undoubtedly a very fine wine with years of ageing ahead of it. Drink now to 2036+.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Vineyards around the Exibis winery.

Exibis La Rasa 2019, DO Pla de Bages, 15% Abv.

A blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Sumoll and 10% Mandó. The blend is made, and the wine is aged for 12 months in 300 litre French oak barrels with a 10% to 15% new oak portion. From a more ‘normal’ vintage, you see that balance in the essence of the wine’s character. Cool, calm and collected. With an extra year of bottle age, the aromatics are similarly youthful to the 2020, tightly packed with stewed black plum, raisined black cherry, burnt brown sugar and hints of creme de cassis and blueberry fruit opulence. Cooler vintages seem more nervous, but this more temperate expression is relaxed, harmonious and superbly elegant, packed with a fruit density that’s very supple and fleshy. Beautifully intense, tangy and focused, this wine is pure class.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Exibus La Baula 2020, DO Pla de Bages, 13% Abv. 

A blend of 66% Sumoll (a portion coming from almost 100-year-old vines) and 34% Mandó fermented in amphorae and the Sumoll fermented in open topped six-year-old 300L oak barrels, then blended in tank. This shares many similar traits with the La Rasa cuvée but shows an extra depth of perfumedaromatics, seamless black cherry confit, bramble berry and sweet grilled herbs. This wine is beautifully elegant and bright, revealing a very sophisticated demeanour. But it’s also a very complete wine, not only fresh and energetic but plush, fleshy and deliciously dense and black fruited, yet always fresh, vibrant and weightlessly concentrated. A more harmonious endeavour, this wine will surely be a big hit with collectors and quality minded connoisseurs. Drink now to 2040+.

(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Blunt 2018, DO Pla de Bages, 14.5% Abv. 

A cuvée Joan started while working in a commercial winery that produced 16 million bottles of wine, realising that there is a deeper meaning to fine wine – a philosophy inspired by a Japanese importer. A 90% Old Vine Cabernet Sauvignon cuvée with a 10% Sumoll portion, the wine is dense, black and opaque in the glass. The aromatics are beautifully layered with notes of sweet blackberry, salty black liquorice, tar, and baked plums with a vanilla pod spice dusting. On the palate, you experience a really plush, full-bodied wine that’s also incredibly easy to drink, with expressive hints of sweet damson plum, mulberry and wild strawberry and displaying sleek, fine grained creamy tannins that frame a wonderfully ripe, pure, harmonious mouthfeel. So balanced and complete, this is one of the most exotically seductive and alluring faces of old vine Cabernet Sauvignon I’ve ever experienced! Drink now to 2040+.

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Joan Soler, co-owner and winemaker at Exibis.
The 500m altitude highland vineyards around Can Serra dels Exibis.

The Exibis wines are available ex-cellar. For more information on current vintages and pricing contact Anthony Crameri:

anthony_crameri@orange.fr

Tradition, Character and Precision – Tasting the New Release (#2024) Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Rioja Wines…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Always an exciting event when Lopez de Heredia releases new wines, the 2012 Vina Tondonia Reserva comes from a very dry year which saw -25% less rainfall than the long term average resulting in reduced yields of very healthy grapes that produced wines with an excellent balance between alcohol and tannins, making it suitable for lengthy aging in barrel. As a result, the 2012 Reserva saw a slightly longer élevage of 6 years in barrel before bottling. 

For the 2004 Gran Reserva releases, this historic vintage was classified by The Regulating Council of Rioja as EXCELLENT. The absence of spring frosts helped with ideal conditions leading to healthy pollination and fruit set but delayed budding due to lower temperatures during that period. All of these weather conditions produced a high yielding, high quality harvest. The summer weather was a little more unstable with a high risk of storms but the autumn was fresh and full of sunlight, allowing the winery to harvest very high quality grapes. The harvest started at Vina Tondonia on October the 11th and at Vina Bosconia on the 20th.

Vina Tondonia Tinto Reserva 2012, Rioja, 13% Abv.

70% Garnacha, 20% Graciano, and 10% Mazuelo.

This is an extremely attractive release that is already showing a seductively alluring, complex aromatics full of earthy red berry compote, stewed strawberries, tannery leather and savoury molasses notes embellished by flamboyant salted caramel nuances. The elegance and fleshy opulence of the nose is matched on the palate by beautifully accessible earthy red and black berry fruits, and dried sweet baking herbs that are quickly enveloped by a soft, friendly acidity and wonderfully creamy, supple spicy tannins. A finely balanced, harmonious release with a deliciously characterful personality. (240,000 bottles produced.)

(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

The 2012 vintage was classified as “Very Good” by The Regulating Council of Rioja

Vina Tondonia Tinto Gran Reserva 2004, Rioja, 12.5% Abv.

70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha, and 10% Graciano and Mazuelo. 

Beautifully pure, bright and lifted, this Gran Reserva Tinto shows the precision and class of Tempranillo in a 5 Star Rioja vintage. The aromatics reveal layers of polished mahogany, red currant fruit, sun raisined cranberry over sweet savoury cured meat nuances. Incredibly pure and focused, this 2004 is vibrant and fresh with a creamy red berry fruit concentration that melts into sweet wood spice and subtle vanilla pod hints, finishing off with real focus, tension and intent. The tannins show a lovely ripeness and polish, still firm but incredibly seamless and fine grained, building to a harmonious, sumptuous finish with power and persistence. Simply beautiful. (24,000 bottles produced.)

(Wine Safari Score: 97+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Vina Bosconia Tinto Gran Reserva 2004, Rioja, 12.5% Abv.

80% Tempranillo, 15% Garnacha, and 5% Mazuelo and Graciano. 

This is a characterful release of Bosconia brimming with forest floor decay, savoury earthy red berry fruits, gamey tannery leather notes, brewed tea, dried tobacco leaf and cured meats. Delightfully elegant and airy, seamless and sophisticated with a weightless concentration, creamy stewed strawberry fruits and plush, spicy tannins, this wine is always more Burgundian in style with extra layers of subtlety, delicacy and finesse. (6,000 bottles produced.)

(Wine Safari Score: 96/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Vina Tondonia Blanco Gran Reserva 2004, Rioja, 12.5% Abv.

90% Viura, 10% Malvasia, barrel aged for 10 years being racked twice per year. 

A pale gold yellow brightness welcomes an attractively complex nose of camomile tea, honey on white toast, sweet caramelized lemon peel, burnish yellow citrus, quince and subtly oxidative, nutty, sherry phenolic hints. The palate boasts a plush, fleshy, breadth and depth with creamy, fleshy voluminous yellow fruits, salted honied peaches, lemon confit, honey and a savoury, harmonious, smoky, spicy minerality. Seductively evolved and tertiary as you’d expect but also beautifully vibrant, energetic and flavourful. (10,000 bottles produced.)

(Wine Safari Score: 98+/100 Greg Sherwood MW) 

The Lopez de Heredia wines are imported into the UK by FMV / BBR and are available to trade on allocation.

Tasting and Reviewing One of the Greatest White Wines in Spain – Pazo Señorans Selección Añada 2013…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

Pazo de Señorans Selección de Añada is an incredible white wine produced in the D.O. Rias Baixas by the Pazo de Señorans winery and is undoubtedly one of the finest wines made from Albariño grapes as well as one of the greatest white wines produced in Spain. The grapes used to produce Pazo de Señorans Selección de Añada come from gnarly old vines of over 45 years old planted on an elaborate trellis system so that the plant is protected from the soil moisture but also has a greater leaf surface area exposed to the sun.

The vineyard is planted about 300 meters above sea level on poor sandy soils of decomposed granite and a cool Atlantic climate with mild temperatures and abundant rainfall. Pazo de Señorans have been an industry leader in showing the aging potential of Albariño and releasing older wines. Collectors and connoisseurs should indulge themselves!

Pazo Señorans Selección Añada 2013 Albarino, DO Rias Baixas, Spain, 13% Abv.

The seriously fine Pazo Señorans Selección Añada 2013 is a fabulously cool, taut, creamy Albariño creation that expresses both youthful and subtle tertiary aromatics all at once. Matured in stainless steel for 36 months on its fine lees, the wine is then aged for a further 72 months in tank before being bottled in April 2022. The wine always shows such incredibly fine-tuned, pure precision without any oxidative notes whatsoever. On the nose, the 2013 positively bristles with hints of dried herbs, acacia flowers, quince puree, pithy waxy lemons, honeysuckle, yellow grapefruit, black currant, and complex notes of smoky lees, and crushed granite minerality. The palate baffles the mind with an electrically charged bright acidity that invigorates the senses with its intensity and freshness. The wine unfurls in the glass for hours, revealing layer upon layer of ripe stone fruits, crunchy white peach, tart yellow grapefruit, gooseberry, and tart green apple. A truly wonderful, eccentric style of premium Albariño that every fine wine lover should drink at least once! Drink now and over the next 8 to 10 years.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

An Iconic Block Buster Ribera del Duero that’s Shooting Out the Lights – Revisiting the Garmon 2018 Tinto…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

It’s a phenomenon that has gripped the fine wine world for the past four or five years. With prices and availability of top producers’ wines from the classic regions of Bordeaux, Burgundy, Tuscany and Piedmont becoming impossibly hard to secure on release, loyal fine wine consumers are consigned to trawling the secondary market where they are expected to pay exorbitant prices from opportunistic brokers. But among all the fine wine market’s hubris, high demand and heat of the past five years, one classic region has slowly but steadily been on the ascendancy – no, not with prices, but rather with its wine quality.

The DOC of Ribera del Duero is indeed the current darling of fine wine lovers around the world and producers like Garmon, owned by the Garcia family, one of Spain’s most famous winemaking dynasties, seem to have all the right attributes to attract serious drinkers and collectors alike. With Garmon’s current production at around only 5,000 cases per year, this represents approximately a third of what Chateau Latour produces or about half of the production of iconic estates like Chateau Angelus or Bolgheri’s Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia. But of course, Ribera del Duero is no stranger to icon and cult producers with wineries like Vega Sicilia and Dominio de Pingus regarded as some of the greatest wineries in the world of fine wine. Indeed it was Mariano Garcia, the owner of Garmon, who produced some of the most iconic vintages at Vega Sicilia whilst head winemaker there from 1968 to 1998.

The Vintage

The 2018 vintage started quite cold with a generous winter rainfall providing replenishment to the water table after a dry 2017. The winter was cold and challenging, with late frosts that did not harm the vines due to a slow vegetative development as a result of prolonged low temperatures. Spring was rainy and cool, increasing the vigour of the vineyards and requiring a greater leaf thinning program to control the yields. At the end of June, the temperatures reached summer highs and allowed for almost perfect development of the berries. The good weather remained until the end of ripening, with the harvest starting on the 27th of September.

Garmon Continental ‘Garmon’ Tinto 2018, Ribera del Duero DOC, Spain, 14.5% Abv.

The 2018 Garmon is made from pure Tempranillo fruit sourced from several different villages all with a pronounced continental climate and old organically and biodynamically farmed vineyards. The various parcels are fermented individually, village by village with indigenous yeasts and matured in 225 litre French oak barrels for 20 months. The 2018 is a bit of a block buster and shows a wonderfully deep, intense, expansive expression of premium Ribera del Duero boasting complex layers of exotic spices, a sweet intoxicating purple flower perfume, violets, red cherries, strawberries and a seductive blueberry nuance. Below the opulent red and black pastille fruit layers purrs a powerful V8 engine, brimming with a black berry compote intensity, salty black liquorice and hints of dried fennel seeds and woodsmoke. This wine has all the power and purity you could possibly want with invigorating, mouth-watering acids and just the slightest exotic balsamic hint on the long finish. A really impressive creation as well as being incredible value for money.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Available from Museum Wines at £42.50 per bottle Inc. https://www.museumwines.co.uk/shop/garmon/2018/garmon-2018/

Revisiting the Mind Blowing Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva Rosato 2009…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

I recently read an interesting tweet by my good buddy Dr Jamie Goode, one of the most well known global wine journalists writing daily on his http://www.wineanorak.com website. Never one to shy away from controversy, his tweet really did get me thinking.

Inspired by his comments, I thought I’d revisit probably one of the most authentic wines on the market that also happens to be one of the rarest new releases, the Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva Rosato. I last tasted the 2009 vintage of this wine way back in June 2019 and also bought a couple of cases for myself. So with UK lockdown recently extended by a further three weeks, I thought it was time to crack one of these unicorns!

The controversial tweet…

The Lopez de Heredia portfolio extends over 170 hectares and four separate vineyard areas of which Tondonia is both the largest (70 Ha) and the most famous. The other three sites making up the estate are Cubillo, Bosconia and Gravonia, each with distinctive terroir characteristics, vineyard aspect and differing styles of wine. The Tondonia Rosato must surely be one of the rarest wines in their portfolio as it is aged for 10 years before release and is also not made every vintage.

Tasting the new Rosato 2009 release in June 2019 with Andrea Mullineux, Maria-Jose and husband Jose-Luis.

Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva Rosato 2009, Rioja, 13 Abv.

What a mind blowing Rosato wine experience. A fabulously iconic wine that offers up the expectation of greatness… and then delivers it in bucket loads! The nose is jam packed with notes of dried ginger, saline orange peel zest, star anise, red liquorice and enticing crushed pomegranate nuances. On the palate, there are seductive notes of bitter blood orange citrus, dried tangerine peel, sweet vermouth botanical spices, white peach and oodles of wet stone liquid minerality. A truly sublime palate that is supremely taut, saline, concentrated and linear while simultaneously being super elegant, slightly tertiary but beautifully pure and focused. All in all, any one lucky enough to drink this wine will experience a profound, authentic Vina Tondonia expression shaped by this iconic winery’s unique philosophy and historical cultural heritage. An incredible wine!

(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Unicorn Rose… the best of the best!

Vega Sicilia’s New Release Tasting 2019 in London with Antonio Menendez Puente…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ Leave a comment

The Ribera del Duero is located in Spain’s northern plateau and is one of eleven Quality Wine regions within the autonomous community of Castile and Leon. It is of course also one of the most recognised and admired high quality fine wine producing regions to be found along the course of the Duero river. A largely flat, hot, dry rocky terrain that is centred around the town of Aranda de Duero, the region was upgraded from DOC to DOCa (denominacion de origen calificada) status in 2008 helped in large part by the global reputation and quality of the wines of Bodegas Vega Sicilia.

 

Undoubtedly considered the “first growth” of Spain and one of the most prestigious and respected wineries in Europe, this incredible producer located in the Ribera del Duero east of Valladolid, covers over 1000 hectares with around 230 under vine. Founded in 1864 by Don Eloy Lecanda y Chaves, who arrived from Bordeaux with cuttings of local grape varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malbec, and planted them together with Spain’s signature grape Tinto Fino, a local clone of Tempranillo.

 

The nearby Bodegas Alion estate is the final piece in the Vega Sicilia Ribera del Duero puzzle, producing superb high quality wines that can normally be enjoyed in their youth or aged for at least a decade or more. Completing the portfolio selection is their Pintia from D.O. Toro and finally the new(ish) Macan Rioja wines made under the Bodegas Benjamin de Rothschild Vega Sicilia joint venture.

Macan Clasico 2016, Rioja DOCa

The hallmark opulent exotic Macan nose is beautifully marked by sweet lavender, black berry fruits, creme de cassis and a plush brûléed veil of vanilla pod and buttered brown toast. The palate texture is fabulously pinpoint and polished with very fine grained stony tannins offset against a fairly classical, medium bodied weight of fruit. Plenty of succulence and appeal.

(Wine Safari Score: 93/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Macan 2015, Rioja DOCa

The Macan big brother shows a noticeably darker tone of berry fruits with lifted notes of black cherry, blue berry and raisined damson plums that combine synergistically with nuances of grey slate, graphite and molasses. Sleek and lush on the entry, the palate is held tightly in check by a fine, noble framing acidity that lends tension and a feel of linearity to the texture. Tannins are very fine, powdery and grippy but well balanced with the intense, saline black berry fruits. A really classy edition that needs nothing more than a few more years in the cellar before drinking.

(Wine Safari Score: 94+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Bodegas Vega Sicilia Pintia 2015, DO Toro

A wine that grows in stature every successive vintage release. This great Spanish vintage offers up a deep, ripe, broody melange of molasses, raisined black plum, black currant reduction and smokey graphite spice. The palate is plump and glycerol with fruit opulence that is slightly clipped in its youth but which shows fine developmental promise with its crystalline acids and super sleek slatey mineral tannins. A lovely expression.

(Wine Safari Score: 92+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Bodegas Alion 2016, DOCa Ribera del Duero

This Alion has a fabulously dark fruited exotic nose with plenty of alluring blue and purple berry fruits, Parma violets and pink rock candy. The wonderful aromatic purity and precision continues on to a super lithe, supple, elegantly textured palate braced with fresh cool acids and tart black berry and black cherry intensity. The oak is impressively integrated already and the palate fruit weighted in the favour of finesse and creamy elegance. A really regal expression of Alion and possibly one of my favourite vintages in several years.

(Wine Safari Score: 95+/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Bodegas Vega Sicilia Valbuena No.5 2015, DOCa Ribera del Duero

Initially the aromatics on this Valbuena are tight, classical and ever so slightly broody with subtle notes of brown toast, vanilla pod, molasses and a caramelised plum note. The palate is bold and sleek, finely textured and notably elegant and fine boned. There is also plenty of ripe black fruit, cassis reduction, caramelised nuts and Christmas pudding exoticism. The sleek mid weight concentration and polished, sweet tannins point to possibly a slightly earlier drinking version but certainly no rush to open as usual.

(Wine Safari Score: 94/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Bodegas Vega Sicilia Unico Reserva 2010, DOCa Ribera del Duero

Another finely layered, rich expressive Unico that is just starting to blossom after almost a decade. The nose is deep, dark fruited and earthy with sweet tannery leather, Christmas pudding, molasses and milk chocolate coated raisin nuances. Plummy, sweet fruited and wonderfully complex, this has the acid frame, glycerol concentration and baked black fruit intensity and power for the long haul. A very classy, well balanced sumptuous Unico.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Bodegas Vega Sicilia Reserva Especial NV (2020), DOCa Ribera del Duero

Like the Unico, this Reserva Especial is entrancingly deep and savoury with earthy black fruits concertinaed between tannery leather, wet river stones and graphite minerality. The palate is dense, weighty and glycerol with layers of earthy black brambly fruits that coat the mouth. So fabulously full, expansive, plump and concentrated yet it never loses its freshness or textural frame or shape. Lovely intensity and complexity, this is quite simply another blockbuster with youthful purity, glycerol unctuousness and sublime harmony and balance.

(Wine Safari Score: 98/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Wines Built to Stand the Test of Time – Tasting the Vina Tondonia Gran Reserva Blanco 1976…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 2 Comments

When ever I drink an old Tondonia white, I feel it’s almost a duty to document these vinous gems and capture their exquisitely complex and exotic nuances for future reference. The occasions and frequency to enjoy these old Rioja bottles becomes fewer and fewer as every year goes by yet many of them are still some years off peak maturity such is the greatness and age ability of these wines.

Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Rioja Gran Reserva Blanco 1976, 12 Abv.

A delicious, incredibly well proportioned offering revealing beautiful freshness of grated lemon peel, bergamot, peach tea, bees wax and Japanese green tea with threads of caramelised oak and vanilla pod spice. The palate has an alluring tertiary oxidative note of diesel rag, sun dried apricots, creamy honied white peaches, bruised yellow orchard fruits and tart lemon cordial with a complexing lick of salted toffee spice on the finish. A wine that really blossoms with 15-20 minutes in the glass as it slowly unfurls its multi-dimensional offering after over 40 years of ageing. Just another beautifully profound Rioja Blanco from Maria Jose Lopez de Heredia.

(Wine Safari Score: 97/100 Greg Sherwood MW)

Many thanks to Chef Roger Jones for sharing this delicious bottle over lunch.

The Unicorn Whisperer at Work – Tasting the López de Heredia Vina Tondonia Reserva Blanco 2004…

~ Greg Sherwood MW ~ 7 Comments

It’s always an exciting moment when one gets to drink a new release of Vina Tondonia and even more so when the colour is white! While the 2004 Reserva Blanco was released back in 2017, this was my first opportunity to leisurely drink a bottle of this delicious unicorn nectar.

Tondonia is of course the hottest topic at the moment with the long awaited new release Vina Tondonia Reserva Rosado 2008 finally released into the UK in April 2018. Very little Rosado will be made available but at least there should be around 35,000 bottles of the Reserva Blanco 2004 produced. Buy it while you can!

Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia Reserva Blanco 2004, 12.5 Abv.

The delicious 2004 Reserva Blanco seemed to creep onto the market in 2017 under the radar of thirsty buyers probably due to its impossible rarity. Differentiated with the Gravonia Crianza Blanco by 10% of very old Malvasía Riojana, the Reserva 2004 is a complex, intense, sophisticated expression that was fermented in 140 year old oak vats with natural yeasts, where it also underwent malolactic fermentation. The aromatics are packed with dried peaches, herbal peach tea, earl grey bergamot notes and melted honey on warm white toast. Few wines are as evocative and beguiling as white Rioja from Vina Tondonia. The palate is rich and nuanced but at no point does it show overt oak characters. Instead, it just unleashes wave upon wave of honied yellow orchard fruits, tea leaves, lemon cordial, dried guava roll, lemon grass and pungent ginger spice notes framed by vibrantly fresh acids. This is another incredibly strong performance by a Tondonia blanco reinforcing its status as one of the ultimate unicorn white wines.

(Wine Safari Score: 95/100 Greg Sherwood MW)