A round and creamy red, with light tannins and lively acidity, this offers an approachable mix of blackberry paste, crushed boysenberry, anise and violet flavors. Drink now. 2,496 cases made, 620 cases imported.??–AN??Region: Spain / Ribera del Duero Select to Add

This savory red shows cherry and red plum flavors framed by tar and licorice notes. Round, with light, firm tannins and lively acidity. Drink now through 2026. 7,500 cases made, 2,000 cases imported.??–TM??Region: Spain / Ribera del Duero Select to Add

Fresh fruit flavors of black cherry and plum mingle with leafy and smoky notes that add a savory character in this light, firm and focused red. Drink now through 2018. 12,000 cases made.??–TM??Region: Spain / Ribera del Duero Select to Add

This muscular red delivers savory notes of espresso, loam and smoke that frame a core of plum and licorice. Firm tannins impart focus and grip. A bit austere, but harmonious. Drink now through 2020. 20,000 cases made.??–TM??Region: Spain / Ribera del Duero Select to Add

The 2011 Arte de Vivir has a ripe, more opulent bouquet, with lifted kirsch and candied-orange-peel aromas that are well-defined and gain intensity in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with juicy, ripe, saturated tannins. There is plenty of citric fruit infusing the blackberry and raspberry notes with dash of black pepper on the finish. Fine. Drink now-2015. I cannot recollect many winery visits where I have been escorted to a fully equipped recording studio. Still, I cannot recollect many wineries like Bodegas Neo, which is so hip that it must have been modeled on Warhol’s “The Factory” (albeit without drugs and occasional shooting.) Proprietor Javier Ajenjo is a man like me: as passionate about music as wine, although personally I do not organize highly successful music festivals – I just don’t have the time and my back garden is not big enough. I wondered whether the music might be too much of a diversion for Bodegas Neo, but I did not find that to be the case. These are generally soundly made, perhaps in a way, oddly conservative wines that might not be the most complex that you can find in Ribera del Duero, but are delicious in their own way. Search “Yani Como” on Youtube to check out Javier’s band. Importer: Eric Solomon, European Cellars, Charlotte, NC; tel. (704) 358-1565