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ricard's Review:

60% Nero d'Avola, 40% Frappato di Vittoria, 13% ABVI was persuaded by my chatty and enthusiastic local Philglas & Swiggot man to buy this unusual Sicilian red wine with a strange fat bottle, not cheap at around 17.00, but which turned out to be an excellent recommendation. I was looking for something Italian, exciting and different. I'm trying to expand my knowledge of the bewildering array of native Italian varieties. You would have thought that being from Sicily, which has a hot, dry climate, that we'd be looking at a wine with high extraction, high alcohol, intense stewed fruit aromas and abrasive tannins, but actually it's more like a Burgundy - soft, light, gorgeously aromatic with a fresh, vivid, minerally finish.This is a very surprising and interesting find. It looks unusual, to start with - the bottle is short and plump - and the label is austere. The ABV is only 13%, which is rare for a Mediterranean wine nowadays. The colour is a light, garnet red, and the wine exudes a gentle perfume of smoked bacon, tobacco and toasty oak, followed by a very balanced, impeccably structured mouthfeel with both savoury and sweet sensations - grilled meats, blackberries - and a very pleasant, impressive, elegant, tightly wound, mineral finish. Tim Atkin recently wrote that Sicily was making great wines - this is definitely proof of that. 92 points.

ricard's Review:

This ambitious, expensive wine comes in an extremely heavy bottle, ostentatiously sending out the message that the liquid is "important". This is a bad habit that some boutique, cult wines are pursuing. It's unnecessary. If the wine is good, it'll speak for itself. In these times of increased environmental sensitivity, making a bottle that adds so much more weight and width to the conventional bottle is going to significantly increase shipping costs as well as carbon emissions just to transport the same amount of liquid from A to B. Surely price does the job of indicating quality - at least in intention. Or perhaps it's designed to tell people who are being served it and don't know the price, that they should take it very seriously? Either way, this is a splendid wine, without question. One hundred percent Cabernet Sauvignon, from a single high-altitude plot surrounded by pine trees, with an extraordinarily dark, inky blue hue, it offers a restrained nose that promises great concentration and intensity. I struggled to fully comprehend how this level of complexity could be so harmonious and gratifying: blackberry, game (hare, venison), steak tartare, and an amazingly long, jammy finish that's peppery and spicy and reveals cocoa and liquorice in abundance. Very impressive. 14% abv, 94 points. As of July 2008, this wine is not yet on the market, it's from a pre-release tasting.

ricard's Review:

This Tempranillo/Cabernet blend is sensational, and I would argue the best Palomar yet. I'd like to suggest it's a better, more satisfying overall experience than the much more expensive Valdebellon, so therefore a far better value. It has a wonderful, sensual, suggestive, inviting nose of brambly forest fruit, macadamia nut, cream, raisins and star anise. It's the best nose of the tasting. Displaying fabulous, pinpoint precision and remarkable purity, it opens up on the finish to reveal even more complexity - an intense, lip-smacking, sexy jamminess that leaves you wanting more and more. Great! 14% abv, 96 points.

ricard's Review:

This 100% Garnacha (Grenache) from the up-and-coming hot, dry region of Campo de Borja offers a screaming 15.5% alcohol content but is remarkably self-contained, considering it is practically port-strength. The aromatics are almost scary: wood smoke, Mediterranean wild herbs, farmyard animal and garrigue... The fruit is intense and gripping, held together with a tight, bright acidity and impressive length, exuding barbecued or grilled meats, cloves and crushed black peppercorn. Stunning, and not for the faint of heart. 15.5% abv, 95 points. As of July 2008, this wine is not yet on the market, it's from a pre-release tasting.

ricard's Review:

This 100% Garnacha exudes a smoky, earthy, rustic aroma. It's jammy beyond belief, like a rich plum cake and lashings of blueberry and blackberry preserve. With superb grip and power, this is a distinctive, hedonistic and vibrant wine, with a finish of minerals, stones, violets and attar of roses. Very good indeed. 15% abv, 93 points.

ricard's Review:

Made from 100% Tinta de Toro (the local name for Tempranillo) from pre-phylloxera ungrafted vines. Alcohol b.v. 14.5%.Frustratingly, this celebrated wine didn't match my expectations. I've had every vintage since 1998 and still consider Numanthia to be one of Spain's emblematic "new"; wines. It's highly regarded by the critics: you're looking at a Robert Parker (well, Jay Miller) 98 here, which is a pretty serious Wine Advocate score, and Wine Spectator has rated previous vintages regularly in the 90s. But on this occasion I couldn't muster a high-nineties experience. It's got the colour of youth: a dark, rich cherry of incredible intensity. The nose is smoky and expresses treacle and leather, with a discreet but unmistakeable background of vanilla and cinnamon. It's got tremendous volume and power on the palate. An expansive, assertive wine of unusual profundity, it exudes raw sensuality in the form of an earthy, rustic seductiveness, beautifully framed in a bold tannic structure that's surprisingly velvety and soft (compare, for example, with the 2003, which is tannic beyond belief). In the first hour the fruit was restrained and I wonder whether the acidity was also excessive - not a good combination! The wine was fighting to open up, so perhaps it needed decanting or breathing for a few hours. I admit it had improved by the end, and started to express more fruit, floral aromas, liquorice, toffee, cream and chocolate complexity. Remarkably, most of the fruit revealed itself on the finish rather than on the nose or palate - a sort of brambly, blackberry affair.I think the best vintages are the 1998 and the 2000. The 2003 is an acquired taste, and the 2004, despite Jay Miller's fascination with it ("killer nose", "immense power", "sensational effort"), it probably needs cellaring for a decade or more before it starts to reveal its real virtues, which I regret to say, are at the moment mostly hidden from view. It's difficult to do the 2004 justice, it struck me as not immediately as good as its worldwide reputation, although it's unquestionably a wine of considerable pedigree. I still think the Mauro 2004, which is cheaper and less admired (Jay Miller 92, WS a completely indefensible 84, but they are often rather stingy), was a better wine. 93 points.

ricard's Review:

One of Spain's great values, made mostly out of Tempranillo, supported by smaller quantities of Cabernet and Merlot. Attractive nose of forest fruit and gentle, toasty spiciness. Not quite as good as the 2004 and 2005 - it lacks the complexity of these previous vintages. But with its nice, plump berry fruit and restrained oak presence, it remains an excellent wine, in itself, and for the price. 14% abv, 90 points.

ricard's Review:

A little disappointing, as I generally regard Coma Vella as one of the better Priorat values retailing under 30, and this one isn't quite as good as previous vintages, such as the 2001 or even the "hot" 2003. It boasts a seductive note of fruit compote, saddle leather and wood smoke. Velvety, and unexpectedly smooth for a young Priorat. The length is relatively brief, but it displays an appealing chewy jamminess and minerality. 15% abv, 91 points. As of July 2008, this wine is not yet on the market, it's from a pre-release tasting.

ricard's Review:

Not bad at all for the little sister of An. Similar nose, faintly reminiscent of Pinot, with a violet scent dimension, lovely nutty, sweet spice sensations and a truffly, minerally finish. 91 points.

ricard's Review:

Distinctive An nose here, marked by rustic Mediterranean elements: rosemary, oregano, sea-breeze and then soothing, subtle, creamy lactic sensations. This is a tremendously interesting wine, with unusual flavours of marzipan, raspberries, and a maple syrup finish. It's great that this wine, made from the local varieties Callet (the dominant variety), Manto Negre and Fogoneu, is consistently interesting, vintage after vintage, and always true to its unusual terroir. Highly recommendable and special. 94 points. As of July 2008, this wine is not yet on the market, it's from a pre-release tasting.