91 Points | International Wine Cellar , September/October 2009

($13; 92% monastrell and 8% garnacha) Inky purple. Deep, smoky, seductively perfumed bouquet of dark berries, macerated cherries, licorice and Indian spices. Powerful blackberry and cassis flavors are surprisingly lively, with notes of black cardamom and candied violet adding complexity. A zesty note of cracked pepper adds snap to the long, spicy, subtly sweet finish. Once again, this is probably the top value I found in my annual tastings of new releases from Spain. Some of the vines in this plot reportedly date back to 1872. (The Rare Wine Company, Sonoma, CA)

88 Points | Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate