Wine Advocate (96)

The 2020 Paixar is the one wine from the portfolio that is completely different from the others and comes from high-altitude vineyards in the zone of Dragonte on slate soils. In 2020 and 2021 they used the whole field blend—reds and around 5% white grapes, which might have given it an extra spark of acidity. It matured in 5,000-liter oak vat and 500-liter oak barrels. It has a perfumed nose, elegant and floral, with good ripeness but without excess. It's finely textured with a chalky thread and great balance. It finishes long and dry. This is truly superb and should evolve nicely in bottle. It's now Vino de Paraje 'A Serra' in Dragonte, a parish of Corullón. 8,000 bottles were filled in November 2021.

Decanter World Wine Awards 2023 (97)

Our Best in Show journey across Northern Spain continues with a 2020 Bierzo, grown just across the provincial border from Galicia into Castilla y Léon. It’s another zone of steep slopes and old vines – the variety in this case being Mencia (known as Jaen in Portugal’s Dão region). This wine is deep black-red in colour and vivacious and urgent in aroma: wild plums mingled with the woodland scents of leaf, copse and forest floor. The palate is fruit-packed and vibrant, vigorous with an energy derived both from ripe acidity and fresh though smooth tannins; look out, too, for a stony, bitter-edged finish perhaps derived from the region’s slate soils. Wonderful drinking now in the flush of youth, but fruit of this quality will hold well for a few years yet.

Wine Advocate (98)

The 2020 Kalamity is Bastegieta's favorite vintage because of the floweriness and the quality of the tannins. There's a lot of precision here. The vines have been detoxed through years of working organically, so the soils have recovered from years of herbicide. 2020 and 2021 were challenging years because of the pandemic, but qualitatively, in Rioja they are excellent years. All wines ferment with indigenous yeasts, and in this case, the wine matured in 600-liter Stockinger oak barrels, which are his favorite for his wines. The wine already starts transmitting freshness from the nose, and the palate is a lot more obvious and makes you salivate. This is super clean, precise like a laser cut, with light and energy, fresher than the majority of Rioja with very fine, silky tannins that give it a beautiful texture with dry, chalky minerality. This is perfumed, elegant, nuanced, layered and beautifully balanced. This is still very young, clean and modern, with stuffing and balance to develop in bottle for a long time. 2,500 bottles produced.

Decanter (94)

Look no further If you’re after an outstanding wine for your Sunday table, produced by a celebrated winemaker, and which doesn’t break the bank. Alvaro Palacios' Finca La Montesa delivers on all fronts: drinkability, complexity, elegance, length and great value. Rioja – and Garnacha – delivered with poise and classic modernity.

Experience the passionate craftsmanship of Spain’s celebrated Ribera del Duero region with Pesquera 2020. Having achieved remarkable acclaim, Pesquera 2020 is the brainchild of Alejandro Fernández, a visionary who revolutionised the region's wine-making industry. This breathtaking Tempranillo varietal is lovingly crafted from grapes meticulously selected from high altitude vineyards, aged perfectly for 18 months in American oak barrels, culminating in a wine that truly impresses with its complexity.

The richly intense Pesquera 2020 exhibits depth and refinement, its robust characteristics displaying vibrant notes of black fruits and a subtle spice backdrop, complemented by smoky oak hints. Elegant tannins deliver a splendidly long finish, encapsulating the artistry and tradition that this masterfully crafted wine embodies. As a global symbol of the region's fine wine, Pesquera 2020's production is steeped in stringent quality control measures, to ensure each bottle embodies a rich Spanish heritage. A glass of Pesquera 2020 is more than a drink – it's a journey imbued with tradition and expertise.

Wine Advocate (95)

The juicy, velvety and aromatic red 2020 Pícaro del Águila Tinto is fine-boned and quite faithfully represents what they want to express with this cuvée; it's very tasty and has some chalkiness (perhaps through less ripeness than in years like 2018) with 14% alcohol and mellow acidity. The nose reveals some Côte-Rôtie-like notes of smoked meat and violets. 2020 delivered a good crop of healthy grapes that produced the finest wine to date for this bottling. This is superb, elegant and powerful, with everything in place (seems to be the signature of 2020) and perfectly integrated oak. 71,382 bottles and 1,979 magnums produced. It was bottled in September 2021.

Wine Advocate (96)

There is more freshness in the 2020 La Vizcaína El Rapolao, where I even found notes of eucalyptus. It's medium-bodied and has fine tannins, very tasty and balanced. There are two new plots in 2020, so they produced some 7,500 bottles. He wants to reach 20,000 bottles here, and there will be a white Rapolao from a plot that he planted with Godello.

Wine Advocate (97)

The 2020 La Vizcaína La Vitoriana matured mostly in a troncoconic oak foudre and had a very short time in barrel. This wine has more Alicante Bouschet in the blend than others, and they didn't include the white grapes in the vineyard. But against all logic, the wine has more finesse than the 2019. 6,000 bottles produced.

Unveiling exceptional quality and craftsmanship, the Telmo Rodriguez Valdeorras LG Valbuxan Tinto Lexitimo 2020 is a fine red wine of exemplary vintage. Crafted by the formidable Telmo Rodriguez brand, this blend is birthed in the historic Valdeorras region of Spain. Specialising in regenerating classic regions with native vines, Rodriguez innovatively utilises biodynamic practices to bring genuine refinement to his produce. This wine is seamlessly crafted from 100% handpicked Mencia grapes, vinified in foudres, and aged in large tino (chestnut barrels) to optimize its aromatic complexity and depth.

Encapsulating true authenticity, the Telmo Rodriguez Valdeorras LG Valbuxan Tinto Lexitimo 2020 harmoniously balances vibrant flavours of blackberry, currant, and cocoa with subtle hints of earthy minerals. Undoubtedly, this lavish offering from one of Spain's most respected vintners exhibits a captivating charm that leaves an indelible mark on the discerning palate.

Wine Advocate (98)

To be released in 2020, the NV Único Reserva Especial 2020 Release is a non-vintage blend of 59 barrels from 2008, 2009 and 2010, mostly Tempranillo with some Cabernet Sauvignon. This wine has been getting closer to the style of the Único, and the blend is from vintages very close to the current release of Único, but somehow this year I think the blend has added some complexity to the bottled wine, which has the heart and soul of the 2010 vintage. In fact, they told me they are keeping more wine to have some older vintages to blend for this Reserva Especial, because in the last few years, the wine has been a little too young for the style that it used to have in the past. This has finesse and some of the Burgundian style of the blends of yesteryear. 17,071 bottles and 214 magnums produced. It was bottled in June 2016.