#79 - Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2023

High-intensity cherry-red cherry color with purple notes on the border. Aromatic complexity is where we find floral notes and red fruit such as currant, raspberry, etc. All this is softened and complemented by fine notes of sweet spices and the nuances of the wood from the barrel (vanilla, clove...). It is a wine of passage marked by a tasty tannin and with personality, the end of mouth takes us to a long and fruity aftertaste with a final minerality that confers elegance and finesse.

Bela is produced from hand-picked grapes, carefully selected from our 25-year-old vineyards situated more than 800 meters above sea level in the Villalba de Duero region.

Wine Advocate 92 Pts "The bread-and-butter wine here is the 2021 Bela, produced with Tempranillo from the village of Villalba de Duero (mentioned on the label), from sandy and clay-rich soils on limestone mother rock that delivers powerful but not overripe wines with a short-ish élevage to achieve a fine-boned and fresh wine. The grapes were picked between October 1st and 25th, mostly Tempranillo but some 5% Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot too, and it matured in French oak barrels for nine months. it's ripe without excess, with very integrated oak and a velvety palate with silky tannins. It reminds me of the historical wines from the early 1990s, Valribeño and so on, with some rusticity but very honest and characterful. With time in the glass, it develops a precise note of licorice intermixed with berry fruit and some spices and herbs."