A generous red, featuring a broad texture that carries ripe flavors of blackberry and currant, with notes of toast and loamy earth. Well-integrated tannins and balsamic acidity round out the package. Drink now through 2021. 200 cases imported.??–TM??Region: Spain / Ribera del Duero Select to Add

The 2001 Pago de Santa Cruz Gran Reserva, from a superb vintage, is a single vineyard 100% Tempranillo cuvee with the vines over 65 years of age. It was aged 34 month in French and American oak and bottled unfined and unfiltered. It is deep purple in color with lots of toasty oak in evidence. Cassis, black currants, herbs, and licorice flavors form the wine’s personality. It is very rich and layered with a long, pure finish. Give it 4-6 years to further develop and drink it over the following decade. Importer: De Maison Selections, Chapel Hill, NC; tel. (919) 933-4245

Made only in top vintages, the 1999 Pago Santa Cruz Gran Reserva was aged in seasoned oak for 34 months. It sports aromas of tar, licorice, lavender, Asian spices, and blackberry that lead to a structured, full-bodied, layered wine. With savory flavors, excellent volume and grip, and a lengthy, pure finish, it merits another 5-7 years of cellaring to optimally express itself. Vina Sastre is a benchmark estate in Ribera del Duero. It is committed to organic farming and biodynamic principles with the wines naturally made and bottled without fining or filtration.Importer: Andre Tamers, De Maison Selections, Chapel Hill, NC; www.demaisonselections.com

The unfined/unfiltered 1996 Pago de Santa Cruz Gran Reserva was aged 34 months in new French and American oak. It offers up complex aromatics of tobacco, cedar, red as well as black fruits, and licorice. Long and sweet in the mouth, with excellent texture, elegance, purity, and personality, it will drink well for a decade. The pricing here is not easy to explain, but as the song says ... that's just the way it is. Importer: De Maison Selections, Chapel Hill, NC; tel. (919) 933-4245