Jesús Barquín | Deep, almost opaque cherry. Not very expressive nose, dominated by black licorice. Concentrated palate with graphite, menthol, licorice, and long but slightly aggressive finish. | 89

Andrew Jefford | Deep black-red. Perfectly correct; all it lacks is a little charm and lift. But there are mature fruits aplenty in the nose of what seems to be (from the aromas) a fully mature wine. Lots of ripeness (a smell of raisins and winnowed wheat). On the palate, the wine is much as the aromas suggested: sweet, sturdy, still grippy, but a little bit charmless and unrelieved. It’s a quibble; there is much to enjoy in this stocky, sturdy Bierzo, which is shouldering the years very well. | 89

Richard Mayson | Deep and still youthful in hue; ripe berry fruit, just verging on jammy, tight-knit on the nose, perhaps showing a touch of heat from the vintage; firm but not as accomplished as some, seemingly lacking the flesh to carry the wine forward and lacking in definition on the finish. | 84