Tim Atkin | Classic, savory Rioja with lots of balsamic complexity. Still young, very good acidity and density, with notes of coffee bean and a hint of Brett. Animal, spicy, and complex. Riscal? | 91

Simon Field | Blackcurrant color, a touch of brickwork at the balustrade. A full, almost stentorian aromatic, volatile up to a point, overripe maybe, overworked maybe, but definitely making a statement... A hint of Brett. The finish dries and fails to resolve. | 85

Andrew Jefford | Extraordinary depth of color here: an opaque black-red out to a reluctant garnet at the rim. Dense, rather stewy and unlovely aromas that may clear and begin to lift with exposure to air: I’ll come back in a wee while. Later: still rather skulking aromatically. On the palate, the wine is rich, heavy, warm, and dense, with ample tannins, sustained acidity, and driving fruits. Very good, in sum—though the wine needs a finer aromatic profile to win a top score. (My colleagues find Brett here, but I don’t see it— more a combination of some reduction with a rather extractive style in which the fruit remains entangled.) | 90