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B-21 Top Recommendation
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Crafted by the team behind the iconic Vinedos Sierra Cantabria, pioneers of vineyard-driven Rioja, the powerful 96 pt. 2007 Vinedos de Paganos El Puntido Gran Reserva offers luscious fresh fruit hinting of smokey earth with smooth, richly structured tannins, "an elegant, silky, beautifully polished wine" according to Jeb Dunnuck poised to ensure Rioja lovers and collectors pleasurable drinking now and over the next decade and truly bargain priced at a fraction of their highly allocated wines.
Bordered by towering mountains high in Rioja Alavesa, visitors to Restaurante El Puntido enjoy a breathtaking view of the famed El Pundito vineyard planted in 1975 by Guillermo Eguren, his sons Marcus and Miguel known as the founding force behind the highly rated Numanthia-Termes portfolio and creators of the family's vineyard-driven "micro-project" Vinedos de Paganos in 1998. Planted with 100% Tempranillo in shallow limestone-rich clay soils scattered with rounded stones at 600 meters above sea level, the organically farmed 25 hectare El Puntido vineyard enjoys a southern exposure with an Atlantic-influenced climate at the foot of the Sierra Cantabria mountains, protected from the cold northern winds and enjoying the moderating influence of the River Ebro that enhances ripening and preserves acidity. Sourced from the steepest, highest altitude and lowest yielding parcels of the meticulously tended El Puntido vineyard and only produced in top vintages, the rich and refined 2007 El Puntido Gran Reserva was aged for 28 months exclusively in new French oak before being bottled and cellared for nearly a decade prior to release, its fresh, concentrated fruit balanced by deeply structured tannins and a long-lived finish promising another decade of evolution.
Crafted by fourth generation "Winemaker of the Year" Marcos Eguren and "clearly a labor of love" according to Vinous critic Josh Raynolds, the small production 96 pt. 2007 Vinedos de Paganos El Puntido Gran Reserva beautifully balances freshness and minerality as a pure expression of its distinct terroir, a well-aged Rioja promising years of enjoyment for fans of bold, earthy Riojas seeking an unbeatable value. |
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Putting my nose in the glass of the 2007 El Puntido Gran Reserva transported me to the classical Riojas from yesteryear. The wine has a fully developed nose with all the textbook descriptors of a good aged Rioja—forest floor, cigar ash, cold bonfire, truffle, cherries in liqueur, blonde tobacco, spices and iodine. But this is a classical Gran Reserva that has something that was not that traditional, and it comes from a single vineyard and matured in brand new French oak barrels for 28 months. But time in bottle has polished it (it was bottled in June 2010, almost nine years ago); the tannins are mostly resolved and it's nicely textured. It has what I love about the best red wine—it's salty rather than sweet, there is no room for sweetness here, and it's sapid and tasty and has great balance and freshness. This is developing at a very slow pace and should continue doing so for a very long time. A great Gran Reserva in the making. Only 5,000 bottles were produced from 2007, a very cold vintage, when the grapes were harvested the last three days of October, and it snowed the first of November!
96 points, Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate (Issue # 243 - Jun 2019)
A much smaller production that was aged longer (28 months) in new French oak, the 2007 El Puntido Gran Reserva comes from the same vineyard as the El Puntido but is a parcel selection. Blackcurrants, plums, smoked earth, incense, and violet notes all emerge from this elegant, silky, beautifully polished wine that's full-bodied, has fine tannins, no hard edges, and a great finish. It has power, but this is more about finesse and elegance.
94 points, Jeb Dunnuck (Sep 2019)
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