Winemaker Notes
Clear and bright black-cherry in color. The nose is attractive with intense, warm aromas of red-berry fruit and subtle notes of black fruit, blossom and tertiary nuances. On the palate, it is delicate with a very round attack. A harmonious, complex wine with body and backbone, polished tannins and no sharp edges. Very well-balanced.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Tight and focused red. Blackberry, tar, black-cherry and cedar with some chocolate powder. It’s full-bodied with creamy, polished tannins and a long, intense finish. Very tight and polished.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
I also tasted the slightly riper 2017 Finca Valdepoleo, a more powerful expression of the vineyard when tasted next to the 2016, without the finesse of it. This is juicy and round, powerful, with abundant tannins and the chalky texture of the limestone soils, with elegance. It's young but approachable, with good balance and with stuffing to develop, a modern version of the 2015 with a little more power.
Rating: 92+
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.