Medium body, good attack, lots of ripe fruit on the palate and good acidity. Sweet red fruit, licorice and soft toasted wood, long and intense flavor. Vineyards located in Laguardia, between 450 and 700 meters above sea level. Vinification in open tanks with cold maceration for 24-48 hours and fermentation for 10-12 days with two daily treads and a small pump-over. Malolactic in barrel. Aged for 6 months in French oak barrels.

Tempranillo 80% Graciano 20% Rich aromatic intensity with a good balance of red fruits, fine woods and smoked. Tasty and velvety, with a structured mid palate and a long and persistent finish. Red meats, stews, roasts and dishes with legumes and game. Aged for 16 months in 75% French and 25% American barrels. 33% new barrels, 33% two years old and 33% three years old. After destemming and crushing, the alcoholic fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks. Subsequent malolactic fermentation, 50% in stainless steel tanks and 50% in new barrels.

The 2007 Vina Coqueta has a more personable nose than the 2005 and 2006, exuding a little more warmth and charm, with rounded wild strawberry and licorice scents. The palate is medium-bodied with supple tannins, good acidity and it handles the new oak better than the 2006, offering more fleshiness and a silky texture on the finish. It will take several years for the oak to be absorbed, but it has great potential. Drink 2015-2025. These wines are crafted in a modern fashion and you can taste the effort that has gone into them. Yet at the same time, there is part of me that would like Fernando to take risks and be wary of not over-analyzing the wines, which can detract from their personality and risk making them over-polished and generic. Perfectionism is an admirable virtue to aspire to, but imperfections can make something more interesting to experience. The Vina Coqueta comes from 41-year-old vines is 5.5-hectare namesake vineyard, a blend of 90% Tempranillo, 8% Graciano and 2% Garnacha that is blended with the skins of the white grapes, then raised for two years in barrel (90% French and 10% American). The Reserva is a blend of 85% Tempranillo, 5% the skins of Viura and Malvasia that are added during fermentation and 10% of Graciano, no younger than 40-years in age. It is raised in 95% French and 5% American oak for approximately 25 months. The Trasnocho is made from the same fruit as the Reserva, but is pressed gently through a water-filled bag inserted into the vat and left to inflate overnight. It is then raised entirely in French new oak.

Robert Parker Score: 93

The 2015 Valdeginés fermented with indigenous yeasts in open-top vats like before, but the time in barrel was shortened to nine months (from 12). The year was dry and this is a little warmer. The fruit feels quite forward and black rather than red, without the tannic structure of the 2014s. They are very different vintages. There is some more lightness on the finish here, and I had difficulties deciding which one I preferred. The truth is that 2014, 2015 and 2016 are very good vintages for Artadi. 2017 has been more difficult, and the wines feel a little tannic from the lack of rain. 13,000 bottles produced.

Robert Parker Score: 92+

Warmer vineyards seem to have worked quite well in a cool vintage like 2013, as is the case of the 2013 La Poza de Ballesteros. The wine was clearly marked by the vintage, with some peppery notes, quite austere, López de Lacalle called it 'static' - I'd say more austere and a little backward, and with nice complexity and depth in the finish. This is less exuberant and Mediterranean than in other vintages, but with less acidity than other wines from 2013. 5,300 bottles were filled in July 2015.

Robert Parker Score: 90

100% Tempranillo. It has an attractive cherry color with a purple rim. On the nose, very aromatic, marked notes of forest fruits, with hints of confectionery, balsamic. The palate is meaty, lively, with sensations of berries, cinnamon, spices, violets, balsamic and a persistent primary finish.

Robert Parker Score: 93

Cherry color. Nose: ripe fruit, fine reduction, toasted, sweet spices, mountain herbs. Balanced, structured, tasty, fine tannins.

Robert Parker Score: 94

A superb vintage in the region has produced a great 2014 Reserva, a wine where they select grapes from the soils with more limestone within their estate. A blend of 80% Tempranillo with 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, it has good ripeness, power and freshness, coming through as a textbook Reserva. It's still young and lively after an élevage in French barrels (40% of them new) for some 20 months. This was inspired by some wines from Bordeaux, even though it has a somewhat more Mediterranean profile.

Robert Parker Score: Not available

The Valbuena is always released in its fifth year. It's mostly Tempranillo with 5% Merlot that was put through a three- to four-day cold soak in the oak vats, where it fermented with indigenous yeasts and was pumped over. It matured in new and used 225-liter French and American oak barriques and also in 20,000-liter oak vats, where the larger vessels respect the fruit. It's a very elegant and fresh Valbuena with a developed nose, quite classical with a fine texture, elegant tannins and a supple, long finish where the oak is still quite obvious.

Robert Parker Score: 95

The one non-vintage wine released yearly, as a blend of different harvests, is now the NV Único Reserva Especial 2017 Release, which contains wine from the 2003, 2004 and 2006 vintages—very warm and ripe years in general in Ribera del Duero, especially the 2003. As all recent vintages of Único, it is mainly Tempranillo with a small percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon. It has younger wines than last year's release, which was made up of 1996, 1998 and 2002, and the wine shows it with less developed aromas and a more fruit-forward profile. It has the classical developed Vega Sicilia bouquet, but the newer vintages used this time and the extra bottle time they have given to the 2005 Único (which is released at the same time as this), makes them show similar profiles. What I'm trying to say is that this is certainly younger than the majority of Reserva Especial to date, and the forest floor, spicy and musky aromas are combined with more primary notes of fruit. The palate has the polished texture and the very fine tannins that are the signature of this cuvée, and a very long and tasty finish.

James Suckling: 96

Winemaker Notes: Bright cherry red with ruby highlights. Numanthia 2015 is a fresh, yet expressive wine. It first reveals a fruity nose with cranberries, blackcurrant and violet notes, then hints of cinnamon, cloves and black pepper followed by delicate and balsamic aromas with mint, eucalyptus and sandalwood. Firm on the palate with a harmonious, wide and balanced evolution. The wine's freshness offers length and vivacity, while it coats the palate with supple tannins. It first develops ripe red fruit, cocoa, cinnamon, mineral and spicy notes such as graphite, nutmeg or cloves, giving complexity and elegance. This finish is gentle and long, with minty, minerals and red berry notes.

Robert Parker Score: 88

This vineyard is owned by the famous negociant Dourthe. La Garde typically represents outstanding value combined with reasonably good quality. The 2011 reveals a beguiling, flattering, precocious, up-front nose of plums, black cherries, kirsch, spice box, smoke and earth. Medium-bodied with velvety tannins as well as a gentle, but authoritative finish.

Robert Parker Score: 89

The Cotes du Rhône la Fiole par Père Ansèlme has the potential to be the best good wine-bad bottle combination in modern history. I hate the crooked bottle used for these cuvées, but the wine inside is what counts, and this is a solid effort, boasting big black cherry fruit, hints of dark chocolate and licorice, ample weight on the palate and a soft, rich finish.

Robert Parker Score: 92

More dense and concentrated than the straight Châteauneuf, the 2012 Châteauneuf du Pape Secret Barville is a smoking blend of 85% Grenache, 10% Syrah and 5% Mourvedre (from Bois Dauphin, Pignan, La Combe and Rayas lieux-dits) that spent 18 months in Burgundy barrels. This is a new cuvee that’s replacing both the Vieilles Vignes and the Secret de Leonce bottlings. It offers up hints of vanilla bean in its black raspberry, cassis, licorice and sweet spice-driven bouquet, and it doesn’t miss a beat on the palate, with full-bodied richness, fabulous purity and terrific length. In short, it's a gorgeous Châteauneuf du Pape that will continue to dish out loads of pleasure over the coming decade.

Robert Parker Score: 92

An inviting bouquet of red cherries, cassis, dark chocolate, subtle spices and rich soil tones, it's full-bodied, ample and fleshy, with a voluptuous attack, a deep and layered mid-palate, and a long, expansive finish. Broader-shouldered than Bizot's wines from Vosne-Romanée, it's a singular expression of Marsannay that would embarrass many of the Côte de Nuits' grandest appellations in a blind tasting.

Pale ruby-purple colored, the Marlborough Premium Pinot Noir gives notes of ripe red cherries and black raspberries with touches of underbrush, cinnamon stick and dried herbs. Medium bodied, it fills the mouth with relatively simple red berry flavors marked by crisp acidity and a low to medium level of chewy tannins, finishing long.

Robert Parker Score: 91

The varietal breakdown in this cooler year was 54% Malbec, 18% Merlot, 12% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Syrah, 3% Petit Verdot and 1% Cabernet Franc, slightly higher in Malbec than in 2017. The wine is approachable, balanced and nicely crafted, produced in a nice-to-drink style with fine-grained, chalky tannins.

Robert Parker Score: 92

The wine offers classic aromas of dried fruit, black currant, spice, licorice and pressed rose. It pulls its various elements together with a nice sense of unity and balance.

Robert Parker Score: 92+

The 2013 The Dead Arm Shiraz has a deep garnet color and a nose of chocolate-covered cherries, cassis and eucalypt with touches of mocha and bay leaves. The medium to full-bodied palate is rich and soft with a crazy backbone of lively acid cutting through the intense flavors and a nice, long mint-patty finish.