Product Line
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Miguel Merino Rioja de Pueblo Briones 2021Miguel Merino is a small family winery in the pueblo of Briones (formerly Brunes in Roman, itself a re-naming of from being that of the Berones, a pre-Roman Celtic people). Like most other Riojan villages, the vineyard land of Briones is a crazy patchwork of small grower holdings. Historically, during the tough years from 1940, these were organised by the village co-ops. More lately, since the 1980s conspiracy to eradicate the village from Appellation Rioja, fruit from these antique plots is mostly sold as cheap, anonymous kilos to ‘The Bigs’ for their reserva-etcetera industrial Riojas. As well as little good coming out of the co-ops and the reservas, a more disturbing sub-plot looms.
Many owners of these little parcels are now very old villagers, whose children are away in Madrid or somewhere, and interested in inheritance, not heritage. As the generational hollowing out of land ownership proceeds apace, many of these vineyards are being scooped up by The Bigs. BUT! In between these and the co-ops are a handful of owner-grower-makers intent on fashioning beautiful village Rioja.2021tempranilloSpain472$89.00 As low as $80.10 -
Telmo Rodriguez LZ Rioja Tempranillo 2022The 2022 LZ is primary, fruit driven, young and fresh, bottled unoaked with moderate ripeness and alcohol. It's juicy and tender, with fine tannins, very nice balance and chalky minerality, transcending the concept of a young unoaked wine. 64,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in June 2023. LUIS GUTIERREZ
LZ is a free-range expression via gravity and concrete. Un-oaked, juicy, deft, utterly typical of its place. Always wonderfully expressive of Lantziego’s cold clay dirt, LZ features crimson-spiced cranberry with rose petal florals and red lavender among plentiful herbs – pure smells of place. The palate is is built on a trademark fruit tannin natural acid twin-track. Simple and beautiful, with plenty of depth, spiced, earthily perfumed, ovoid, lissome and satisfying.2022tempranilloSpain472$48.00 As low as $43.20 -
Torre de Ona San Martin Rioja Crianza 2020The young and fruit-driven 2020 Finca San Martín is pure Tempranillo fermented in stainless steel and matured in new American (60%) and French (40%) oak barrels for 16 months. It's creamy and spicy, with ripe berry fruit, clean and modern, approachable and powerful with 14.5% alcohol, but it also has good freshness and acidity. 180,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in November 2022. LUIS GUTIERREZ, The Wine Advocate
The 2020 Crianza Finca San Martín is 100% Tempranillo, sourced from Laguardia, Rioja Alavesa and aged 60% in new French oak and 40% in used barrels. Exhibiting a garnet color, the aromas showcase vanilla, cedar, sour cherry and cassis, complemented by an herbal layer. Indulgent, rich and fairly structured, the fine tannins contribute to a corset-like mouthfeel. JOAQUIN HIDALGO, Vinous2020tempranilloSpain472$38.00 As low as $34.20 -
Vinos en Voz Baja ‘Costumbres’ Rioja Tinto DOCa 2021Combining grapes from Autol, Alfaro, Adeanueva and Rincón de Soto, Costumbres is a regional expression of the Rioja Oriental. Garnacha based with 5% Garnacha Roya, Tempranillo and Tinta Velasco, it's a very lightly wooded red with 100% whole bunch spices, subtle grip and layers of bramble, raspberry and red cherry fruit. TIM ATKIN MW.2021tempranilloSpain472$74.00 As low as $66.60
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Vinos en Voz Baja ‘Erosivo' Rioja DOCa 2020The single-vineyard red 2020 Erosivo comes from a small plot planted with an unusual mix of grapes, 70% Tinta Velasco (that, confusingly enough, is locally called Graciano de Alfaro) and 30% white Calagraño (or Pasera) in the paraje Yasa de las Cuevas, in the Erosiva de Los Agudos. The nose is more Mediterranean with violets and red berries. The wine is ripe at 14.2% alcohol, and there are abundant, slightly dusty tannins. The alcohol is lower and the acidity higher, and the wine has some rusticity and character but comes through as balanced. It needs a little more time in bottle to polish the tannins. It was produced in a very hand-crafted way, foot treading the full bunches in open-top barrels and maturing the wine in a 600-liter oak barrel. Only 720 bottles were filled in July 2021. LUIS GUTIERREZ, The Wine Advocate2021tempranilloSpain472$145.00 As low as $130.50
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Exopto Bozeto de Exopto Rioja 2023
This wine has dropped the Bozeto styling and is now simply called Exopto. New name, same vibrant, great-value Rioja. This pan-regional expression of Rioja’s three principal grape varieties is conceived as a lively, easy-drinking introduction to the range. Most entry-level wines from this region are based on Tempranillo (a variety easier and more profitable to grow), yet here Garnacha represents 65% of the blend. This Garnacha hails from very old vines in the sandy, river-stone terroirs of El Agudo and Al Casillón at Alfaro (Rioja Oriental). The Tempranillo is drawn from a selection of mature vines in Ábalos (high-county Rioja Alta), and some Ábalos Graciano adds freshness and finesse.
The wine ferments in a combination of concrete and steel tank, then ages for six months in concrete and 5,000-litre oak vats. These days, Tom includes a measure of semi-carbonic maceration for extra buoyancy. Opening with perfumes of dusky berries and well-judged spice, this is a wonderfully aromatic, restaurant-friendly wine. It’s a wine that impresses with its precision rather than power. Even so, the warmer year gives an open, juicy wine and a great deal of drinking pleasure: spice, vibrancy and velvety flow flecked with notes of espresso, dried flowers and wild woody herbiness to go with its smoky blackberry fruit. If you’re looking for a bright, succulent grower Rioja, few will deliver better value than this.
2023Grenache, tempranilloSpain472$32.00 As low as $28.80 -
Artuke Finca de los Locos Rioja 2021Finca de Los Locos is an old, single vineyard wine grown high on slopes of the Cantabrian mountians north of the town of Banos. Arturo and Kike de Miguel’s grandfather planted the vines in the 1950s, though other farmers of the day thought he was mad to work such a difficult, rock-strewn slope when so much land was available on the flat plains of the Rioja Valley floor. Sixty years later however, this single parcel is consistently producing some of the finest examples of terroir-focused wine in the region. Made with 90% Tempranillo and 10% Graciano, Finca de Los Locos is black-fruited, decidedly cool climate and massively over delivers for the price. ALIMENTARIA2021Grenache, tempranilloSpain472$69.00 As low as $62.10 -
Ausone 20181 Bottle at the time of the offer
This really is a creation of true refinement and class, that lends itself to the harmonious, graceful style that is so typical of great St. Emilion. Suckling, Perotti-Brown and Galloni all awarded it perfection, with Jeff Leve noting that there are few wines at this level of quality produced from any vineyard in the world. If you can afford just one of 20,000 bottles produced annually, it will be a trophy for any cellar designed to last 50-100 years. -Tom Portet
Antonio Galloni 99
The 2018 Ausone is mind-blowing. The aromatics alone are mesmerizing. I don't know what more to say. Cabernet Franc is so expressive, so vibrant so nuanced. Rose petal, cinnamon, star anise and sage meld into a core of red fleshed fruit. The 2018 doesn't impress with opulence or richness, rather it is a Saint-Émilion that is all about persistence and energy. I won't be at all surprised if it merits a higher score in the future. Readers who can find it should not hesitate. The 2018 is a viscerally thrilling wine of the highest level.
James Suckling 99-100
This is really exotic with wild-fruit character that I have seldom encountered in Ausone. Full-bodied yet reserved and very tight. Amazing depth and purity of fruit. Incredible beauty. Sexy.Lisa Perrotti-Brown 98-100
Full-bodied, rich, decadent and tightly knit, it offers layer upon layer of fruit, spice and mineral nuances with a firm frame of exquisitely fine tannins and bold freshness, finishing with epic length and heart-stopping beauty.
2018Cabernet Blends, MerlotFrance356$2,800.00 As low as $2,520.00 -
Victoria Ordonez Camarolos tinto 2018Wine has been part of Victoria Ordóñez’s life for as long as she can remember. Her father, José María Ordóñez, was a pioneer of the Spanish wine industry, distributing fine wines across the Province of Malaga since the ’50s. Although Victoria’s own professional career took off in a different direction – she studied to be a doctor and has a PhD in Medicine – in 2004 she decided to enter the wine business, initially combining it with her work as a health service administrator.
Victoria admits that she owes everything to the Austrian oenologist Alois Kracher, with whom she worked side by side making Málaga wines until his death in 2007. It was at this point that her career took a fresh turn as she decided to focus exclusively on what had become her passion – the world of wine.
Tasting: Bright red fruits, fennel, and other Mediterranean herbs, chocolate, and violet aromas. Maroon color and fine tannins lend a pleasing structure. Vibrant with red berries and spicy flavors, the wine is at once concentrated and fresh. Beautiful silkiness and great finesse with a very fresh finish.
Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo and Syrah.20 months in barrels and 12 months in bottle. BARRICA WINES2018Cabernet Sauvignon, shiraz, tempranilloSpainSpecial Price $76.00 Regular Price $89.00 -
Telmo Rodriguez Lanzaga 2018This is so beautifully balanced with bright fruit, creamy and crunchy acidity and delicate tannins. Full and compressed with very polished tannins that go on for minutes. From organically grown grapes. Drink or hold. JAMES SUCKLING
Lanzaga a village wine, combining 35 plots, handled separately and blended after selection. Aged a year or so: half the wine matures in relatively neutral 1500-2000 litre wood; the rest in a mix of 225 and 600 litre barrels (at most 10% new oak).2016tempranilloSpain472Special Price $76.00 Regular Price $89.00