Score | Publication | Review | Copy |
91 | Vinous Media | Bright ruby-red. Spice-laced raspberry, cherry and potpourri scents are complemented by hints of vanilla and coconut. Sweet, seamless and fleshy on the palate, offering juicy red fruit flavors that deepen and stretch out. 2021- 2026 Josh Raynolds - February 2021 |
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90 | International Wine Report | This deeply hued La Mancha wine opens with suggestions of blackberry cordial that mingle with the lovely earthy tones on the nose. The palate is deep and generous, delivering a soft texture. Tar and mocha flavors collide with minerals on the palate. Enjoy this great value wine in the short-term. 2019-2025 September 2019 |
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88+ | View from the Cellar | The cépages for the 2015 Viña Jaraba “Selección Especial” is slightly different from the Crianza, as this is seventy percent tempranillo, ten percent merlot and twenty percent cabernet sauvignon. The wine is again raised in a combination of French and American barrels, this time for a period of twelve months. Happily, the wine comes in at the same civilized octane of 13.5 percent as the Crianza in this vintage and delivers a fine aromatic constellation of black cherries, dark berries, a bit of saddle leather, cigar wrapper, soil tones and a nice touch of smoky oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and nicely focused, with a good core, fine-grained tannins and very good length and grip on the quite refined finish. There is a bit of brett here that may scare away some folks (though certainly less than many a vintage of Beaucastel back in the day), but there is fine depth and complexity here as well. 2020-2040.
Issue #75 – May/June 2018 |
Score | Publication | Review | Copy |
92 | Wine Review Online | Among the current releases from this exemplary producer, this stands with the top-of-the-line 2018 Pago de la Jaraba as wines made for the cellar rather than current consumption, though the remarkably reasonable price of $20 for this could lead you to believe otherwise. It shows notably more weight than the 2016 Reserva and though the wood is still reserved, this is the more taut and uncoiled of the two. It incorporates 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Merlot, like the 2016 Reserva, but they are more evident in this wine, whereas the silky, subtle 2016 Reserva could easily pass for a 100% Tempranillo wine. Our back-of-the-house WRO software won’t allow me to give this a score of 92+ to account for the wine’s ability to develop positively from time in bottle, but that potential is evident, so add a plus yourself and keep an eye peeled for this great value when scrutinizing for retail availability. Michael Franz – March 9, 2021 |
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91+ | View from the Cellar | The cépages of the 2018 Vina Jaraba “Seleccion Especial” is seventy percent tempranillo, twenty percent cabernet sauvignon and ten percent merlot. Half of the cuvee underwent malolactic fermentation in five thousand liter French oak foudres, with the other half undergoing malo in tank. The wine was then blended and aged for one year in casks- fifty percent American oak and fifty percent French in origin. The wine offers up an excellent bouquet of black cherries, dark berries, cigar wrapper, lovely spice tones, a hint of coffee grounds, chalky soil, cedar and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a lovely core of fruit, good soil signature and grip, fine-grained tannins and a long, complex and very well balanced finish. This is a very well-made wine and an excellent value, as it sells for only $20 a bottle here in the US (and probably decidedly less in the EU). Good juice! 2021-2040. John Gilman - Issue #91 / February 2021 |
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89 | Vinous Media | Deep, vivid magenta. Oak-accented cherry and red currant scents are complemented by hints of licorice and vanilla. Taut and focused on the palate, offering bitter cherry and red berry flavors and a hint of sweet chewing tobacco. The vanilla note comes back on a long, chewy finish firmed by dusty, slightly rigid tannins. 2022-2027. Josh Raynolds – July 6, 2021 Central Spain Additions |
Score | Publication | Review | Copy |
93 | Wine Review Online | This wine is terrific in the 2019 vintage, and is styled for immediately enjoyment. A blend of 70% Tempranillo, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Merlot, it shows lots of savory details at this early stage, yet the wine doesn’t seem manipulated or “over-worked.” On the contrary, the pure, primary fruit notes are very naturally interlaced with the savory accents, and the wood influence is minimal and very well integrated. Moreover, the wine’s acidity and tannin are also so nicely interwoven that the wine is seamlessly delicious, yet still not simple, thanks to all those savory details. At the risk of repeating myself: Terrific wine, ready to rip, and an outstanding value. Michael Franz - Issue March 1, 2022 |
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92 | Wine Enthusiast | Dark ruby to the eye, this wine has aromas of brambly berries and green bell pepper. Flavors of dark chocolate, blackberry, black cherry, violet and clove are wrapped in a sheath of satiny tannins that dissolve into a floral and spice finish. Mike DeSimone; March 2023 |
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90 | View from the Cellar | The 2019 Viña Jaraba “Selección Especial” is composed from seventy percent tempranillo, twenty percent cabernet sauvignon and ten percent merlot. As I have mentioned in the past, half of this cuvée goes through malolactic fermentation in five thousand liter French oak foudres, with the other half undergoing malo in tank. The wine is barrel-aged for twelve months in one wine vessels, of which fifty percent are American oak and fifty percent French oak. The 2019 version is excellent, wafting from the glass in a precise and complex nose of black raspberries, smoked meats, cigar wrapper, dark soil tones, a touch of cola and cedary oak. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a good core and soil signature, ripe tannins and a long, classy finish. 2026-2045. John Gilman – Issue # 98 March/April 2022 |
Score | Publication | Review | Copy |
92 | Wine Review Online | ($20, Grapes of Spain / Aurelio Cabestrero): Silky and marvelously graceful for all the flavor and pleasure that it delivers, this is an obviously well-made wine sourced from skillfully grown fruit. Nearly full-bodied but very soft in texture, this is what — for most consumers and especially restaurant guests — Merlot was supposed to be but never quite was, and what Malbec was for a while before it wore out its welcome with many tasters. A blend of 70% Tempranillo, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Merlot, this shows both red and black fruit tones, but leans more toward black fruit. It is serious without being stern, as wonderfully fine tannins and reserved oak make this extremely inviting already, though it can stand up to formidable foods and become much more complex as tertiary notes build in over the next decade.
Michael Franz Dec 5, 2023 |
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89+ | View from the Cellar | The 2020 Tinto “Selección Especial” from Viña Jaraba has a touch more cabernet in its blend than the regular bottling, as the cépages here is seventy percent Tempranillo, twenty percent Cabernet Sauvignon and ten percent Merlot. Half of the cuvée is barrel-fermented in five thousand liter French oak vats and the wine is raised in a fifty-fifty blend of American and French oak barrels for one year prior to bottling. The wine is deep and complex on the nose, offering up scents of black cherries, cigar smoke, dark soil tones, sweet brown spices and a nice touch of cedary oak. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied, focused and complex, with good soil signature and grip, ripe, moderate tannins and fine length and grip on the well balanced finish. This could do with a couple of years in the cellar to further soften up its backend tannins, but it is going to be quite tasty. 2026-2040. John Gilman - Issue #103 January/February 2023. |