92(+?) Points | International Wine Cellar , November/December 2000

Medium red, fresher at the rim than the '90. Big, deep, essence-of-Rioja nose features plum, strawberry, cinnamon and smoke (in comparison, the '89 is distinctly higher-toned). Sweet and dense in the mouth, with terrific vinosity and youthful snap. Suave and classy Rioja. Finishes firmly tannic and extremely persistent. A superbly elegant, multifaceted '89 from thoroughly ripe grapes. La Rioja Alta, says enologist Jose Gallego, looks for complexity in its gran reservas, rather than power or simple fruitiness.

87 Points | Wine Spectator

90 Points | Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate