2023 Cuesta del Herrero Ayles Vino de Pago 750 ml

We’re not sure we’ve offered any other bottle that so perfectly conveys the red-blooded rustic energy, aristocratic elegance, and stop-on-a-dime precision that defines the best Spanish wine—especially at such a low price.

The 2023 Cuesta de Herrero Aylés comes from one of just 20 elite vineyards to hold the highly coveted Vino de Pago status. It’s one of the highest classifications in Spain—the equivalent of a French Grand Cru. 

Like Spain's flamenco dancers and toreadors, this is a wine of poetic boldness, displaying a shape-shifting complexity that makes it difficult to pin down. It’s rich and full on the palate, with aromas of wild violets, dark berries, and a hint of cracked pepper. It boasts 92 points from Master of Wine Tim Atkin, who praised it as a “polished, layered red.”

Federico Ramón founded Cuesta de Herrero in 2003 and made it his life’s work to be the first to secure Vino de Pago status in Aragón. Aylés, a high-altitude vineyard site—almost 2,000 feet above sea level—has a long history of winemaking dating back to the 12th century, when King Alfonso I granted the land to Spanish monks, who were the first to plant grapevines there. 

The area’s extreme continental climate can deliver insane daily temperature swings—sweltering days give way to frigid nights. Fortunately, the brutal daytime heat gets mitigated by the cool cierzo wind that blows in from the northwest. The Cuesta de Herrero team expertly shepherds the vines through these unforgiving conditions, bringing in grapes that deftly balance ripeness and acidity. 

The climate, terroir, and extreme care that Ramón and his family expended in the vineyard helped make his Vino de Pago dream come true in 2010, just before he passed away.

This release reflects the vivacity and streamlined black-fruit concentration that shows why this wine is in the elite class of Vino de Pago. That it can be had for this price makes it a wonder to behold—and one to definitely buy on sight.