This firm red is focused and energetic, offering cherry and berry flavors, with licorice and sanguine notes. Crisp acidity balances the assertive tannins. A muscular style. Drink now through 2027. 600 cases made, 150 cases imported.??–TM??Region: Spain / Bierzo Select to Add

This red shows good density, with smoky and tarry notes framing a core of black cherry and plum. Herbal and mineral accents add interest, while light, firm tannins give structure. Drink now through 2021. 666 cases made, 150 cases imported.??–TM??Region: Spain / Bierzo Select to Add

The 2013 Paixar is pure Mencía from old vines in a slope plot at 700 to 1,000 meters altitude in the village of Dragonte, where the soils are rich in slate. The wine matured in French barrique for 22 months and was bottled unfiltered. It's very peppery, a little herbal, perhaps a lighter vintage, with little influence of oak. The palate is medium-bodied, with fine tannins, quite fluid, without the power and clout of other vintages. A lighter year of Paixar, elegant and fine. 8,000 bottles produced.

This plump red has depth, delivering ripe, sweet flavors of cherry and plum, with cola and chocolate notes balanced by fresh, citrusy acidity. Offers enough tannins for grip. Drink now through 2022. 665 cases made, 175 cases imported.??–TM??Region: Spain / Bierzo Select to Add

I nearly missed the 2012 Paixar, but I finally got a bottle to taste in the last minute. You have to be in the end of the 1990s mind frame and be open to oaky exuberant wines, because this is it. It's like time traveling with the intense aromas of incense, cigar ash, balsamic woods, mushrooms, forest floor and cured meats that hardly let you see the fruit underneath. It's such a cliché of what was called 'Ribera del Bierzo' style that it's almost funny... Underneath all that makeup, there is very good fruit, with good ripeness and balance. The flavors are of course derived from the élevage, but in this case, I believe there is enough stuffing to eventually overcome the impact from the wood - even though it will never reach a perfect balance and will always be a generously oaked red. I waited and waited, and waited. I even left a glass overnight - and the more delicate notes of violets and the floral character are there. For fans of oaky reds.