Marques de Murrieta Dalmau Reserva 2016 (750ML)

96 DE / 95 WE / 94-95 WA / 94-95 JS / 93 W&S

One of a very small number of wines in Rioja that includes Cabernet Sauvignon – for historic reasons – this is an elegant, distinguished red blend based on Tempranillo with 3% Graciano completing the cuvée. Aged in new French oak, it's a Bordeaux-influenced style showing refined tannins, notes of cassis, blackberry, cedarwood and a fresh, mineral-edged core. - Tim Atkin, Decanter

EDITORS’ CHOICE. A fully ripe nose runs deep with balsamic black fruit aromas as well as complex notes of graphite and fine oak. A plush palate offers that elusive depth of character that great wines display, while this modern-style Rioja tastes of black fruits as well as chocolate. A silky smooth finish shows barely any grit or bite. Drink now through 2028. - Michael Schachner, Wine Enthusiast

Exceptionally, I also tasted an unbottled sample of the 2016 Dalmau Reserva, which will be launched in January 2019, as they want to show the public the change in the 2016 vintage. 2016 saw a very good growing season, and the harvest was in late September. It feels like a very young Bordeaux blend, elegant and powerful. And as I saw in the other 2016 I sampled (the Reserva), this has gained in precision (it fermented at 24 degrees Celsius, quite cold for a red), avoiding too much extraction, and that seems noticeable in the texture and the quality of the tannins, sleek, velvety, more elegant, focused and sophisticated. This has all the traces to be the most elegant and finest vintage of Dalmau to date. - Luis Gutierrez, Wine Advocate

Ripe and intense red with tempranillo, graciano and a touch of cabernet sauvignon. Jumps out of the glass with crushed flowers and berries. Full body, round and juicy tannins and a flavorful finish. Shows excellent potential. Barrel sample. - James Suckling

Named for Conde Vicente Dalmau Cebrián-Sagarriga, the owner of Murrieta, this comes from a 22-acre parcel at Finca Ygay, the bodega's 740-acre estate above the town of Logrono. A blend of tcmpranillo (82 percent), cabernet sauvignon (15 percent) and graciano planted in stony, iron-rich clay soils in 1950, the wine is firm and youthfully tense, built to last. The initial mineral scent runs straight through to the end, playing off the herbal savor of bay laurel and the muscular, plummy density. This will benefit from several years of aging. - Joshua Greene, Wine & Spirits