Penfolds Cellar Reserve Tempranillo 2022

Penfolds Cellar Reserve wines are alternative, limited release wines that explore the innovative boundaries of viticulture, vinification and style. Penfolds Cellar Reserve Tempranillo is sourced exclusively from McLaren Vale and is a unique Australian expression of this grape variety. Displaying typical fruit characteristics of berries, liquorice, spice and nectar, extended maturation in seasoned French oak has added great complexity to the palate.

Faustino Rivero Ulecia Rioja Crianza 2021

This is splendidly ripe and inviting on the nose, showing Black Doris plum, sweet cherry, clove and vanillin oak characters. The palate is equally appealing with succulent fruit intensity together with silky texture and finely pitched tannins. Plump and beautifully rounded, making it generous yet with exuberance and vigour.

Gomez Cruzado 'Vina Dorana' Reserva Rioja 2017

Bodegas y Vinedos Gomez Cruzado dates back to 1886, with nobleman Angel Gomez de Arteche bottling his own wine in Rioja Alta. Purchased in 1916 by Angel and Jesus Gomez Cruzado, the winery passed onto the Banos family in the early 2000s, and is today led by winemaker / viticulturalist David Gonzalez. Gomez Cruzado wines are sourced from traditional old bush-trained vineyards in the most elevated areas of Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa.

Faustino Rivero Ulecia Rioja Joven 2023

Bright nose of mulberry, briar and cinnamon sticks. Fresh and lively dark fruits with some exotic North African spice undertones. Flows quite long, tannins remain supple and we see a hint of acidity just lifting the finish nicely. Good example of Rioja Joven at the price.

Valenciso Rioja Reserva 2018

Valenciso's flagship Reserva is a selection of handpicked tempranillo from the clay/limestone soils around Haro. The grapes are drawn from 17 plots spread across the villages of Villalba, Rodezno, Briones and Ollauri, all lie within a five-kilometre radius of the winery.   Part of what has been proposed as the Western Sonsierra zone (by Alberto Gil and Antonio Remesal Villar in Rioja: Vinos Silenciosos), Ollauri’s vineyards are noted for their excellent calcário soils, altitudes of up to 600 meters and Atlantic-influenced climate. All the vines are managed organically and cropped well below the regional limits. The youngest vines that make the grade here are 60 years old.

Heirloom Adelaide Hills Tempranillo 2019

The 2019 Heirloom Adelaide Hills Tempranillo offers classic tempranillo aromatics of black cherry, pepper, cherry pip, African Violets, cola nut and spearmint. This wine is juicy yet dry on the palate, but then again tempranillo is a creature of split, multiple personalities. At each stage of the palate there is an interplay with fruit and acid and tannin. The final highlight is the never-ending length of the wine.

Mystery Tempranillo Dozen 90 Point Award Winner

Unlike most red wines, this young style of tempranillo is pressed off skins midway through fermentation. This early pressing prevents the extraction of bold and harsh tannins that are typical to tempranillo from the skins into the wine, resulting in a plush, juicy, and endlessly drinkable style of red wine. A short time maturing in seasoned French oak, before early release preserves the fresh and intensely red-fruited character of this wine. This producer's attention to detail with this Spanish powerhouse variety exemplary.

Tempranillo

Penfolds

Faustino Rivero Ulecia

Gomez Cruzado

Faustino Rivero Ulecia

Valenciso

Heirloom Vineyards

Mystery Cases