This Week's Must-Try Wines from Vinous

Welcome to this week's Vinous Top Ten! Each week we compile a list of top ten wines from the Vinous database that you need to add to your wine wish list. With all the various regions, producers, and grapes, no week will be the same! All of the wines listed in this feature are available for purchase on Banquet . This week's must-try wines are from Josh Raynolds’ article The Vast Bounty of Central Spain . Enjoy an excerpt from his article and his notes for this week's top ten below! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ “While serious wine fanatics are well acquainted with Ribera del Duero, Toro and Rueda, much of the world consumes millions of gallons of wine a year made in the less lofty nearby regions, especially La Mancha and the far-reaching Castilla y León, both of which often deliver excellent value. Then there are unsung DOs like Campo de Borja, where readers will find some of the biggest bang-for-the-buck Grenache in the world.” --Josh Raynolds, The Vast Bounty of Central Spain, February 2021 1. Altovinum 2017 Garnacha Old Vine Evodia 2. Bodega Bernabeleva 2018 Arroyo del Tortolas 3. Bodega Elias Mora 2014 Gran Elias Mora 4. Bodega Numanthia 2013 Termanthia 5. Bodegas Alto Moncayo 2017 Alto Moncayo 6. Bodegas Angel Rodríguez 2017 Verdejo Martínsancho 7. Bodegas Breca 2019 Garnacha de Fuego 8. Bodegas Portia 2016 Prima La Encina 9. Dominio del Águila 2016 Picaro Clarete 10. Finca La Capilla 2015 Crianza

Bodegas Finca La Capilla

Crianza Ribera del Duero Tempranillo 2015

Delectable Wine
9.1

Deep ruby. Spice-accented aromas of blackberry and cherry pit, with subtle vanilla and espresso flourishes. Smooth and energetic on the palate, offering juicy dark fruit and floral pastille flavors supported by an undercurrent of zesty acidity. A floral pastille nuance emerges with air and builds through a long, gently tannic finish that echoes the cherry note. (Josh Raynolds, Vinous, February 2021)
— 4 years ago

Bodegas Portia Prima

La Encina 2016

Delectable Wine
9.2

Deep, vivid violet. Oak-spiced dark berries, mocha and violet on the deeply perfumed nose. Deep, jammy black and blue fruit and vanilla flavors show good energy, and a peppery note adds spicy lift on the back half. The vanilla notes carry through the clinging, rounded finish, which is framed by well-knit tannins. Malo and 15 months of aging in new and used French oak barrels. (Josh Raynolds, Vinous, February 2021)
— 4 years ago

Bodegas Dos Victorias

Gran Elias Mora Toro Tempranillo 2014

Delectable Wine
9.4

Opaque ruby. Assertively perfumed aromas of cherry preserves, blackberry, incense and potpourri; oak spice and mineral topnotes build in the glass. Alluringly sweet and concentrated, with an undercurrent of smoky minerality lifting dark berry liqueur, bitter chocolate and candied lavender flavors that show fine definition. Supple, slow-building tannins add shape to an extremely long, juicy finish, which echoes the floral and mineral notes. 100% new French oak. (Josh Raynolds, Vinous, February 2021)
— 4 years ago

Dominio del Aguila

Pícaro del Águila Clarete Tempranillo Blend 2016

Delectable Wine
9.2

Extremely pale red. Pungent red berry, blood orange and floral aromas are complicated by smoky minerals and white pepper. Sappy and sharply focused on the palate, offering red currant, raspberry and floral pastille flavors braced by a spine of juicy acidity. Delivers a suave blend of power and finesse and finishes long and minerally, with resonating floral and red fruit notes. All whole clusters and fermented in large, neutral French oak vats; aged for 16 months in neutral French and American oak barrels. (Josh Raynolds, Vinous, February 2021)
— 4 years ago

Bodegas Alto Moncayo

Campo de Borja Garnacha 2017

Delectable Wine
9.3

Opaque ruby. Powerful aromas of black and blue fruit preserves, vanilla, licorice and violet, along with a smoky mineral quality. Fleshy and broad on the palate, offering pliant blueberry, cherry liqueur and mocha flavors and building hints of oak spices and candied flowers. The vanilla and blue fruit notes reverberate on a smoky long finish framed by slowly building tannins. (Josh Raynolds, Vinous, February 2021)
— 4 years ago

Bodegas Bernabeleva

Arroyo del Tórtolas Garnacha 2018

Delectable Wine
9.4

Bright violet. Intensely perfumed aromas of red and blue fruit preserves, incense, spicecake and licorice, plus a smoky mineral overtone. Pliant, palate-staining boysenberry, bitter cherry and violet pastille flavors show excellent clarity and solid thrust, and juicy acidity provides freshness. Rich but vibrant in style, with superb finishing lift and excellent, youthfully tannic persistence. (Josh Raynolds, Vinous, February2021)
— 4 years ago

Bodegas Breca

Garnacha de Fuego 2019

Delectable Wine
9.0

Brilliant violet. Expressive cherry, blueberry and floral pastille aromas are complemented by suggestions of cola and licorice. Sweet, seamless and broad in the mouth, offering jammy black and blue fruit and spicecake flavors that tighten up slowly on the back half. Shows appealing sweetness and no rough edges on the long, juicy finish, which features repeating spiciness and a hint of florality.(Josh Raynolds, Vinous, February 2021)
— 4 years ago

Bodegas Angel Rodriguez

Martínsancho Rueda Verdejo 2017

Delectable Wine
9.0

Brilliant straw-yellow. Musky citrus pith and succulent herb aromas, along with building floral and mineral accents. Juicy and open-knit, showing good depth and clarity to the ripe Meyer lemon, white peach and pear flavors. The herbal and floral notes repeat on a long, smooth, lively finish that shows no rough edges. (Josh Raynolds, Vinous, February 2021)
— 4 years ago

Bodegas Numanthia

Termanthia Toro Tempranillo 2013

Delectable Wine
9.5

Deep, lurid ruby. Powerful, smoke-accented aromas of black currant, cherry liqueur, vanilla and candied licorice; a suave floral nuance builds in the glass. Alluringly sweet and broad on the palate, offering deeply concentrated black and blue fruit, mocha and floral pastille flavors and a touch of spicecake. Shows excellent delineation and solid punch on an impressively long, dark berry-driven finish framed by slow-building, harmonious tannins. (Josh Raynolds, Vinous, February 2021)
— 4 years ago

Altovinum

Evodia Garnacha 2017

Delectable Wine
9.1

Brilliant ruby. Intense, smoke-accented aromas of blackberry, boysenberry and exotic spices, along with a suave floral overtone. Seamless and expansive in the mouth, offering energetic dark fruit liqueur, floral pastille and white pepper flavors that pick up a smoky nuance with air. Closes on a sweet blue fruit note, showing solid thrust, repeating florality and velvety tannins that fold quickly into the vibrant fruit. There's remarkable value here, as usual. Raised in an 80/20 combination of concrete vats and neutral French and American oak barrels.(Josh Raynolds, Vinous, February2021)
— 4 years ago