Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
1994 was a very heralded vintage in Ribera del Duero, when the region was exploding with new projects and enjoyed a textbook growing season with a cold winter with average rain, a mild spring and a warm and dry summer that delivered a very healthy crop. Today, the 1994 Único from magnum feels very Bordelais; the documentation talks about 15% Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend, but at the time, they still sometimes used Merlot and even a little Malbec. It's quite peppery, with some paprika notes and moderate ripeness and alcohol (13.5%). 2,196 magnums produced. Artwork by Francisco Bores.
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.