Jesús Barquín: Pale gold. Sharp and expressive nose of quince flesh and fresh spices. The palate is delicious despite a vague hollowness provoked by the abrupt transition between the intensity of flavors and the austere structure. Not round but brave, sharp yet fascinating. The lighter than usual color is misleading here, but I think I recognize a great vintage of Gravonia or a Tondonia Reserva. I’d love to be wrong, since that would mean someone new on the scene. These wines are staples in my cellar, and I do admit that I am biased, but for one good reason; I simply love them... 90

Andrew Jefford: Full yellow-gold. Enchanting and wholly classical aromas of oak and developed, topquality fruit to make something nourishingly warm and maternal; just what you want to snuggle up to in the glass. On the palate, the wine is concentrated, long and super-secondary; the air and the oak give it a breadth and a grasp of the palate that this relatively early-picked or barely ripe fruit would never have given on its own. As we’ve seen elsewhere, the shy orchard or citrus fruits of youth mature toward an apricotty fullness with time. The whole works very well together, though honesty still compels me to say that we are not tasting an enormously concentrated wine, and I still wonder if slightly riper or more developed fruit would not have added an extra layer or two of gratifying complexity. But let’s not carp—within the context of white Rioja, this is a great effort. 90

Richard Mayson: Deep gold with a burned, cooked, casky aroma and more than a hint of wet dog, suggesting that this wine has not been well kept. Bottle 2:Better on the palate, but the fruit has dried out and the wine is hollow, despite retaining some acidity on a rather astringent, extractive, tannic finish. Second bottle much colder and therefore better on the nose, but just the same on the palate. 80