La Poza de Ballesteros

Score

97

Score

93

Score

97

"Deep yet vibrant nose with morello cherries, iodine, oyster shells, crushed stones and fine spices. Certainly nothing 'sweet here. A tight claw of fibrous tannins on the full-bodied palate. Really mineral and chalky with crumbled, fine tannins. Drink or hold."

Score

93+

"The 2020 La Poza de Ballesteros is a powerful and ripe wine with 14.66% alcohol and ripe fruit, volume and round and dense tannins. It's from a 1.18-hectare plot of vines planted in 1960 on deep brown soils, and the exposition to the afternoon sun and the deeper soils gives the grapes more ripeness‡and this wine is always a riper expression of Tempranillo. It's unctuous, with contained ripeness, fresher fruit and fine, slightly dusty tannins. It's balsamic, clean and fresh with some aniseed and fennel aromas and a silky, gentle palate, with less ripe sensations than in past vintages. 3,800 bottles produced. It was bottled in June 2022 and in barrel until June 2021."

Score

99

"Such a brood of youthful black cherries with white pepper, minerals, chalk and iodine on the nose. Really fine, crumbled tannins on the palate, giving it linearity and expressiveness. Such precision and elegance for this vintage with an iron fist of silky tannins. This is even better than the 2020 vintage if you appreciate details and finesse over power and verticality. Drink from 2025."

Score

94

"The 2021 La Poza de Ballesteros is 100% Tempranillo sourced from a vineyard planted in 1960 in Elvillar de Álava, Rioja Alavesa. This garnet-purplish red wine reveals subtle aromas of wild herbs with hints of cherry and pennyroyal. On the palate, it is dry, velvety and comfortable, with ripe and plush tannins that lead to a long-lasting fruit finish. This Rioja exemplifies a terroir-driven approach, showcasing the fruit tones and nuances unique to the Elvillar region."

Score

94

"There is a note of fennel in the 2021 La Poza de Ballesteros, a wine that is more open, approachable and round, with a gentler palate. It feels comfortable and velvety. This is the opposite slope to Valdeginés, a soil with more sand. 4,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in May 2023."