Spain and Portugal

Made by sisters María and Cristina de Amézola, our Rioja combines aromas of sweet strawberries and redcurrants with a savoury note of cured meat. This is wonderfully fresh, with focused tannins and a smooth mouth-feel. An early frost led to low yields in 2017, but the resultant quality, intensity and complexity is extremely impressive.

{***}{region}Rioja, Spain{region}
{color} Red{color}                                                               {maturity}drink-now{maturity} {maturity-text}Drink now{maturity-text}
{vintage}2017{vintage}{***}

The secret of Tempranillo seems to reside in its hidden depth; gregarious and initially appearing far too attractive to be remotely serious, this wine gradually revels the true depth of its personality; the black fruits are ripe of course , but are backed by notes of laurel, licorice, garrigue and forest floor; the tannins are finely-tuned needless to say, but are swathed in a fine minerality; all in all this is clearly very fine indeed. Juan Carlos thinks it more closely resembles 2004 than 2001, but is sure that it will be better than both of them.

{***}
{region}Rioja{region}
{color}Red{color}                                                                                          {maturity}ready-keep{maturity}
 {maturity-text}Ready, but will keep{maturity-text}
{vintage}2007{vintage}
{ratings}
[]The Wine Advocate:: 98/100
{ratings} 

Rich colour, hints of balsam and blackberry; a finely textured wine of real depth and elegant balancing acidity.

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{region}Rioja{region}
{color}Red{color}                                                                                               {maturity}ready-keep{maturity} {maturity-text}Ready, but will keep{maturity-text}
{vintage}2005{vintage}
{ratings}
[]The Wine Advocate:: 95/100
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The NV Palo Cortado Obispo Gascon, produced from Palomino grapes averaging 20 years old, and shows the telltale nose of Palo Cortado with its lactic touch and an off-dry nose of apricots, blond tobacco and spices. The palate is dominated by the salty notes (common to all Barbadillo wines), sharp, medium-bodied, with great length.

{***}
{region}Jerez{region}
{color}White{color}                                                                                               {maturity}ready-keep{maturity} {maturity-text}Ready, but will keep{maturity-text}
{ratings}
[]The Wine Advocate:: 92/100        
{ratings}
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With an average Solera age of over twenty years this Sherry has been designated VOS (Vinum Optimum Signatum or “Very Old Sherry”) status. A very serious, dry and austere wine with huge intensity. This wine has long been recognised as a favourite among the cognoscenti of the wine trade.

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{region}Jerez{region}
{color}White{color}                                                                                               {maturity}ready-keep{maturity} {maturity-text}Ready, but will keep{maturity-text}

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Founded in 1821, Barbadillo is a seventh-generation family owned and operated bodega based in Sanlucar de Barrameda. VORS is a rare category denoting a ‘Very Old Rare Sherry’ over 30 years of age and this limited release bottling is taken from the third criadera of their 120-cask solera. It is darker in colour, drier and more intense in aroma and flavour than the classic Palo Cortado Obispo Gascon, with fantastically complex notes of citrus, grilled nuts, spices and a distinctive salty finish. This pairs incredibly well with almonds, mature cheeses and cured meats.

{***}
{region}Jerez{region}
{color}White{color}                                                                                               {maturity}ready-keep{maturity} {maturity-text}Ready, but will keep{maturity-text}
{ratings}
        
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Founded in 1821, Barbadillo is a seventh-generation family owned and operated bodega based in Sanlucar de Barrameda. The NV Amontillado Principe, from 30-year-old Palomino vineyards, spends eight years under flor and a further six years of oxidative aging. Amber-colored, it has aromas of candied oranges, hazelnuts, mushrooms and a touch of iodine. The palate is sharp and fresh, showing good integration. 

{***}
{region}Jerez{region}
{color}White{color}        {maturity}drink-now{maturity} {maturity-text}Drink Now{maturity-text}
{ratings}
   [] Robert Parker:: 91/100     
{ratings}
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The NV Reliquia Oloroso jumps out of the glass, with a most peculiar combination of perfumed notes of dried roses, iodine, cigar-ash, cold bonfire and extra-vecchio aceto balsamico. The nose keeps changing, giving you new sensations every time you go back to it. The palate is extremely powerful, even aggressive. It has width and length, ending saline, but it is difficult to drink, almost painful. They used to call these wines 'handkerchief wines' as gentlemen in the old times used to wear a drop of them in their handkerchiefs for the aroma. A very complex, ultra-concentrated, intense, radical very old Oloroso. One of a kind, a true relic, this is an extreme wine if there is one. Drink carefully and in very small doses between 2013-2030. - Wine Advocate

{***}
{region}Jerez{region}
{color}White{color}                                                                                               {maturity}ready-keep{maturity} {maturity-text}Ready, but will keep{maturity-text}
{ratings}
[]The Wine Advocate:: 95/100        
{ratings}
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The Pedro Ximenez originates from barrels that Don Rafael Terán Carrera left Don Antonio Barbadillo Abrossy at the end of the 19th Century which formed the basis of a solera created in 1921 at the Bodega del Toro in Sanlucar de Barrameda. It is immensely rich and concentrated with incredibly complex layers of sweet dried figs, Medjool dates, baking spices and aged noble woods. The palate is thick and silky, coating the mouth like an oil slick and culminating in a long, intense and bittersweet finish.

{***}
{region}Jerez{region}
{color}White{color}                                                                                               {maturity}ready-keep{maturity} {maturity-text}Ready, but will keep{maturity-text}
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The structure, style and superb quality of Warre’s Ports are defined by its vineyards. Its main and largest vineyards include Quinta da Cavadinha, Quinta de Retiro Antigo and Quinta de Telhada. Further to these, Warres also produces from a collection of other vineyards that are privately owned by members of the Symington family. These include Quinta do Alvito and Quinta das Netas.

{***}{region} Port {region}
{color} Red{color}                                                               {maturity}ready-keep{maturity} {maturity-text}Ready, but will keep{maturity-text}
{vintage}1977{vintage}{***}

{***}{region} Port {region}
{color} Red{color}              {maturity}ready-keep{maturity} {maturity-text}Drink Now{maturity-text}
{vintage}NV{vintage}
{***}

In a head-to-head of those two great Rioja vintages, 1995 is now showing even more promise than the 1994 and this wine is no exception. An absolute gem, try it with roast turkey or game.

{***}
{region}Rioja{region}
{color}Red{color}                                                                                               {maturity}ready-keep{maturity} 
{maturity-text}Ready, but will keep{maturity-text}
{vintage}1995{vintage}
{ratings}
[] Robert Parker:: 92/100

[] Jancis Robinson:: 17.5/20

{ratings} {***}

Dark ruby-colored with a garnet rim, it displays a lovely nose of Asian spices, incense, tobacco, balsamic, and blackberry. On the palate it has exceptional depth, layers of spicy black fruit, excellent ripeness, and an elegant personality. Upon release it should continue to evolve for another 5-6 years and drink well through 2040. - The Wine Advocate

{***}
{region}Rioja{region}
{color}Red{color}                                                                                               {maturity}ready-keep{maturity} 
{maturity-text}Ready, but will keep{maturity-text}
{vintage}2001{vintage}
{ratings}
[] Wine Advocate:: 96/100

[] Jancis Robinson:: 17/20

{ratings} {***}