"Deep ruby. Ripe cherry, floral pastille and pipe tobacco scents, along with notes of cracked pepper and vanilla. Sweet and penetrating, offering plump blackberry and cherry compote flavors that pick up smokiness with aeration. Closes smooth, spicy and long, with soft tannins coming on late and folding into the wine's sweet dark fruit."
- Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar (September/October 2014), 90 pts
"These wines are from the same producer as the Palacio del Burgo offerings reviewed later in this report, and, for my taste, seem almost identical to those wines. The outstanding 2009 Reserva is made from a blend identical to the Palacio del Burgo 2009 Reserva, 85% Tempranillo, 10% Grenache and 5% Carignan. It boasts lots of complexity and virtually the same character as the 2009 Reserva from Palacio del Burgo – vanilla, new saddle leather and sweet black cherry characteristics presented in a medium-bodied, elegant, complex and concentrated style. Drink it over the next 2-3 years. - Robert Parker"
- Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate (November 2014), 90 pts
"The most expensive wine, the 2010 Reserva shows more aged graphite notes intermixed with pepper, vanilla, black cherry and strawberry. It is ripe, round, juicy and best drunk over the next 3-4 years."
- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate (March 2016), 87 pts - Excellent Wine Values for Under $25
"Saturated ruby. The nose displays an array of ripe dark fruit and floral scents, with a potent vanilla overtone. Fleshy and open-knit for the vintage, offering powerful blackcurrant and bitter cherry flavors that pick up a spicy flourish with aeration. The vanilla and cherry notes repeat emphatically on a very long, gently tannic, spicy finish. After fermentation in stainless steel tanks this wine spent a year in American oak barrels.- Josh Raynolds"
- Antonio Galloni's Vinous (November 2015), 91 pts
"(raised for 18 months in a 50/50 combination of French and American oak barrels, new and used) Bright ruby-red. Fresh dark berry, licorice and spice scents, along with smoky mineral and vanilla flourishes. Sweet and seamless on the palate, offering juicy boysenberry and cola flavors and a touch of candied flowers. Lingers with good tenacity on a long, oak-accented finish shaped by smooth tannins. - Josh Raynolds"
- Antionio Galloni's Vinous (May 2017), 90 pts
"Dense fairly bold blackberry and dark plum aromas are backed by a plump palate that's braced by a beam of core acidity. Earthy berry flavors come with notes of vanilla, wild herbs and tobacco, while the finish is full and weighty but also juicy. Drink through 2020."
- Wine Enthusiast (May 2017), 90 pts
"A small step up in price, the 2014 Reserva (85% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano, and 5% Mazuelo) has a similar elegance and purity, with classic vanilla-laced notes of spice, garrigue, cedar, and both cherry and darker currant-like fruits. It’s balanced, has fine tannins, and is an outstanding wine. I like it today, but I suspect it’s capable of keeping for a decade."
- Jeb Dunnuck (March 2019), 90 pts
