Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
A red with stones, fresh berries and cherries and some orange-peel undertones. Hints of spice, too. Medium-boded with fine tannins, So long and polished. Very classic-textured palate. Wonderful complexity. From organically grown grapes. So drinkable now, but even better in 2024.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 El Velado comes from a southeast-facing vineyard in the village of Lanciego that has a high proportion of Garnacho from Viñaspre as well as other varieties in a field blend where Tempranillo dominates. 2018 was a wet year that produced mildew in the vineyards and resulted in a late harvest (October 8th to November 1st). It fermented in an open-top 3,000-kilo oak vat with indigenous yeasts and matured in barriques and foudres for 14 to 16 months. This feels more balanced and fresher than other vintages, and the wine is quite fluid, a year of good yields and fine tannins. The grapes developed fully, as the cycle was long and the ripeness very good.
Hailed as the star red variety in Spain’s most celebrated wine region, Tempranillo from Rioja, or simply labeled, “Rioja,” produces elegant wines with complex notes of red and black fruit, crushed rock, leather, toast and tobacco, whose best examples are fully capable of decades of improvement in the cellar.
Rioja wines are typically a blend of fruit from its three sub-regions: Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Oriental, although specific sub-region (zonas), village (municipios) and vineyard (viñedo singular) wines can now be labeled. Rioja Alta and Alavesa, at the highest elevations, are considered to be the source of the brightest, most elegant fruit, while grapes from the warmer and drier, Rioja Oriental, produce wines with deep color, great body and richness.