A seriously indulgent, luxurious Rioja sporting the new classification, 'Vino de Pueblo', which denotes a wine that must be produced from family-owned vineyards within a named village, in this case, the village of Quel. Its charms begin before you have even pulled the cork, as the packaging is a treat for the senses too. Once inside, you are welcomed by soaring notes of cassis, black cherry, violets, vanilla and cedar. It’s a full-bodied, exuberant Rioja, blended from four small plots at 1,800 feet above sea level, where poor soils allow the roots to delve deep. 14.5% alc. 90% Tempranillo, 10% Garnacha. 18 months in 80% French and 20% American new oak and a final 6 months in large French oak foudres. 14% alc. Drink now-2032.

Press reviews:

JancisRobinson.com (previous vintage): “Tasted blind. Scrubland, Provençal herbs and a mineral feel. Tremendous delicacy, depth, and fully integrated sweet tannins. Very intense in flavours but also long and fluid. It is quite exciting, even tasted blind… and getting excited by tasting blind is difficult! It is a Mediterranean profile, but gently done. Fabulous! (FC). Drink now-2040.” 18 points

Decanter (previous vintage): “Cherry, vanilla, raspberry and plum nose. Purity, definition and savoury twist on the palate all adds to the interest. Incredible spicy-floral length; a very lovely wine indeed.” 95 points