Baron de Chirel 2001 tasted in 2010 intensity A wine so intense so powerful and complex in the nose the palate and the finish that it almost cloyed my senses!

Casa Castillo Pie Franco 2000 tasted in 2008 Berry jam . Till the day I tried this wine I had always found the wines made with monastrell tasty but hard to drink. One glass was more than enough. I could have a whole bottle of it. But more important, the delicious berry jam nature of this wine is still vivid in my memory. I recently tried 2003 and although the wine was very good I did not like it as much as 2000. There were no sediments but neither the berry jam sensations :-(

Cims de Porrera 2001 tasted in 2006 Cariñena grape This wine is the paradigm of how a second tier grape variety under the right conditions (old vines and poor, slate hillside soils in Priorat) can result in a first tier wine.

Cims de Porrera 1996 tasted in 2010 HUGE One of the best wines I have had in my life. I have never had so fruity and sweet tannins ever before. A wine made by Gods. What a shame that Vall LLach and Martinet sold the winery to Perelada, they were coming up with a blast of a wine. If you have the chance to taste it do not miss it by anything in the world.

Cúlmen de Lan 2001 tasted in 2006 Lan's flagship Velvety texture supported by ripe, well integrated tannins and plenty of sweet toasty oak. Plum and blackcurrant fruit. Very expressive, yet with great concentration. Mineral and tobacco notes add complexity.

Finca Dofí 1998 tasted in 2010 elegance Lacks and intense nose but the taste and finish are outstanding good and long.

Finca Sandoval 2001 tasted in 2010 highlight of a night out nose of rubber, it brought me back to my youth of zodiac excursion in the Mediterranean sea. Palate of blackcurrants, tasty and very long. The wine has not been filtered, therefore the soul is intact.

Gran Tábula tasted in 2010 Intensity Out of the wines that I tasted on that evening: Maria de Alonso del Yerro 2006, Cruz de Alba Crianza 2005, Conde de San Cristóbal 2005, Cepa 21 2005, Astrales 2005, Aalto 2005, Ferratus Sensaciones 2005, Bohórquez MMII Reserva 2004 and Chafandín 2004 it was the only one that was able to get through a nose and a palate numbed by flu. Perhaps it is not the most complex wine in the world but the aromas, the the body and the taste of the wine will wake you up. Superb grape quality, very little filtering and people who know how to make wine. Price a little steep though: 36 euros.

Hacienda Monasterio Reserva 2001- tasted in 2009 Magnetic elegance Extraordinary blend of Tempranillo-80% and Cabernet Sauvignon-20%. There were other heavyweights in the tasting but I kept going to the Hacienda Monasterio. I did not get tired of tasting it over and over again, magnetic!. But it did not stop there, I have been thinking about it since. So far, the best red wine I have had in 2009. I would like to get a few bottles and see how it goes with certain dishes. If I do enough trials I know I ll run into an unforgettable pairing. I have also tried the Reserva 2007 but it was not that good, I suppose it was probably too early, this wine needs years of bottle aging. I 'll stick my neck out for this one as long as Peter Sisseck is there.

Imperial Reserva 2001 - tasted in 2009 Good value! Pretty impresive for a 18 Є wine. Complex, intense nose of ripe fruit, vanilla, cedar and something that reminded me of some kind of petrol by-product or burnt rubber. On the palate it was like so many traditional Riojas, that is, medium body and neither fruity nor tasty. My surprise came when paired with suckling lamb somehow the wine changed. It became deliciously fruity reminding me of ripe fruits of the forest, a miracle in front of my tounge.

Malleolus 2000 tasted in 2009 Fruit fruit fruit and more fruit Massive amounts of top-notch fruit. A plunge into a sea of tempranillo, thick, red, tasty juice. This is the wine I have liked best from Emilio Moro.

Negre Franc 2006 tasted in 2010 Made by Celler Pardas this is the only wine I know made with Cabernet Franc, in Spain. I think this is the healthiest wine I have ever drunk. Full of tanins, colour and fruit. The wine has not been filtered and it tastes to me more like an alcoholic blackcurrant juice than wine.

Nogal 2004 tasted in 2010 nature let loose Local yeast, low yield, no treatment of any kind and no filtering result in a wine rich in sediments but also in flavor, aromas and complexity. I want to taste it again, this is my sort of wine.

Pago de los Capellanes tinto Reserva 1999 tasted in 2009 Top-notch Another great wine from Ribera del Duero. Intense, deep and full of ripe berries.

Pesquera Millenium 2001 tasted in 2006 perfume made with grapes The notes of orange skin are breathtaking.

Quinta Sardonia 2005 tasted in 2009 DENSE A treat for the dark and chewy wine lover. Tons of blackberries, plums and chocolate. I liked it as much as the Pingus 2007 but considering the price difference (about 700 euros) the Quinta Sardonia was a real discovery. It was my favorite wine on that tasting what is a lot when one considers who the other wines were: Clos D'Agon Tinto 2007, Hacienda Monasterio Reserva Especial 1995, PSI 2007, Flor de Pingus 2007 and Pingus 2007.

PF 2008 tasted in 2010 Atypical Everything about this wine is unusual, the grape (bobal), the colour (shiny violet), the nose and the palate. I like what Juan Antonio Ponce is doing in Manchuela.

Pingus 2007 tasted in 2009.Perfection Happy I tried it before kicking the bucket. This wine reminds me to the perfect mechanish of a Swiss watch. You can feel the hours of work behind it to achieve perfection. Worth trying if you can afford the price.

Raimat Cabernet Sauvignon Vallcorba Reserva 1994 tasted in 2009 Longevity Mild reduction aromas are in a matter of seconds substituted by a subtle perfume. Tasty, balsamic, pleasant tanins and a long finish. A fifteen year old wine that defies the clock, there is not a single sign of the deteroration.

San Román 2004 tasted in 2007, 2008 and 2009 El Toro We met for the first time on a tasting led by Eduardo Garcia. There were others in that tasting: Mauro 2005, Prima 2005, Astrales 2004, Paixar 2004, Condita 2005 and Ramiro 2003. All of them were good but there was a general agreement that San Román 2004 was a blast and that a few more years of bottle aging could result in an extraordinary wine. Seductive bouquet of cedar, incense, plums and blackberries. Deep and sweet, with powerful dark berry liqueur flavors underscored by strong oak spice.

San Vicente 2001 tasted in 2010 Euguren family at their best Fascinating wine that changes in the glass with every breath. It starts smelling of blackcurrant jam.

Sierra Cantabria colección privada 1998 tasted in 2009 Moroccan spices reduction aromas are fastly substituted by a hard to describe aroma. All I can come up with is: berries compote. But on the palate is a different story. As any superb, aged for a decade, old fashioned Rioja the spices notes are overwhelming. It felt like stepping in a Moraccan spices shop in Marrakesh. Medium body, tasty and long and pleasant finish.

Vall LLach 2000 and 2001 tasted in 2010 One of the four pillars of Priorat The 2000 was a little bit strange with a nose of mustard and chucrut, still a great wine. The 2001 has much more black fruit and it is tastier and with a longer finish, a real blast.

Viña El Pisón 1995 tasted in 2009A wine not from this world I like Artadi and I have no doubt it will be a world-leading winery as long as Juan Carlos López de Lacalle lives. Viña El Pisón strikes 98 points with Robert Parker when it doesn't a 100. Only to say that this wine is different from the rest. As different as a hand made Ferrari is different from your Ford. The colour is different from the other wines as well as the bouquet, the taste and foremost the texture. I see this wine as the happy encounter between out of this world grapes and hands of an out of this world enologist - Juan Carlos López de Lacalle