If there is a wine that embodies the terroir-driven focus since the 1990s, it's San Vicente. The 2020 San Vicente is 100% Tempranillo Peludo, distinguished by its velvety leaves. Sourced from the San Vicente vineyard in the Canoca Valley, San Vicente de la Sonsierra, it aged for 20 months in French (90%) and American (10%) oak barrels. This purplish wine offers ripe black fruit aromas and wild herb notes against an oak backdrop. Dry, juicy and taut, the light and fine-grained tannins linger long. A nuanced, modern Rioja, this wine is a masterpiece of Marcos Eguren's winemaking technique—a truly elegant Tempranillo.
96 points, Joaquín Hidalgo, Vinous (Apr 2024)
Coming all from a massale selection of Tempranillo (Peludo Tempranillo) and aged 20 months in new barrique, the 2020 San Vicente is deep purple-hued and reveals a beautiful nose of cassis and assorted darker, almost blue fruits supported by classy oak, graphite, and crushed stone-like minerality. It's beautifully concentrated, medium to full-bodied, has fine tannins, and a great finish. This pure, clean, incredibly impressive Rioja will benefit from 3-4 years of bottle age and evolve for two decades.
96 points, Jeb Dunnuck (Jul 2024)
A plush, complex Rioja with powdery tannins that coat the palate nicely. Deep nose with lots of blackberries, Mexican chocolate, iodine and fine spices. Excellent quality and quantity of tannins that melt away with the ripe but fresh fruit. Very long and tight but really silky. Drink or hold.
94 points, James Suckling (Aug 2024)