Aging gracefully, this medium- to full-bodied red is round and expressive, still showing ripe blackberry and boysenberry coulis flavors alongside savory notes of sweet smoke, cured beef, eucalyptus and espresso. Reveals a core of sculpted tannins that have a creamy, well-meshed edge, with spice and menthol accents lingering on the lightly juicy finish. Drink now through 2033. 2,000 cases made, 1,000 cases imported.??–AN??Region: Spain / Rioja Select to Add

There might be some similarities between 2008 and 2009 and 2018 and 2019. The 2009 El Puntido Gran Reserva is a more powerful wine than the 2008 I tasted next to it, and the oak is still noticeable, especially a smoky and roasted note. The level of alcohol and acidity/freshness were similar, but this comes through as more powerful/riper and oakier. 5,000 bottles were filled in May 2012.

I was greatly impressed by the 2008 El Puntido Gran Reserva, a wine with a more traditional profile than the majority of wines from the Eguren family. At age 14, the wine is glorious, still young and with a mixture of primary and more developed notes. It goes more in the direction of the old wines, with balsamic notes of incense and cedarwood, mushrooms and some berries and herbs. It's complex and elegant, with fully resolved tannins. This was bottled back in May 2011, so it's been in bottle for over a decade, and the texture shows it. It has 14% alcohol and a pH of 3.55. This matured in brand-new French oak barrels for 28 months, and the wine has absorbed the oak completely.

Currant, licorice and cocoa flavors are remarkably fresh in this big, firm red. Muscular tannins are a bit grippy, but balsamic acidity keeps this lively. Shows the aging potential of the modern style, even in a challenging vintage. Drink now through 2024. 1,500 cases made, 800 cases imported.??–TM??Region: Spain / Rioja Select to Add

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!