For reports and full tasting notes, go toTim Atkin MW's website.

I was eager to taste the 2021 Aro, a wine produced only in special years when the Graciano ripens thoroughly, as it represents a significant percentage of the blend here; the other grape used is Tempranillo. The grapes fermented in small oak vats with indigenous yeasts, and the wine matured in new French oak barrels for 18 months. This is their most exclusive wine; only 6,194 bottles were produced in 2021. It was bottled in October 2023. The next vintage will be 2022, but it was not made in 2023 or 2024.

The 2021 Aro, 70% Tempranillo and 30% Graciano from the calcareous clay soils of Rioja Alta, was aged for 18 months in new French oak barrels. It begins with a cleansing note followed by ripe black and red fruit, plum, menthol and mild undergrowth, with the oak adding understated toffee and spice tones. Creamy and full-bodied with a compact flow and a lengthy finish shaped by firm tannins and lingering oak flavors, this is bold and modern in structure, but remains rooted in Rioja’s depth of expression.

The impeccable 2021 Aro is a triple-selection of vines from six different Muga vineyards, all planted to older vines, a selection of a selection resulting in 70% Tempranillo and 30% Graciano here. The addition of Graciano is bold and groundbreaking; very few wines at this level of quality tend to include it, but here we are, it’s made its case. Not made every year, it was produced in 2010, 2015, 2016, 2019 (another 100-point year), and 2021, with about 6,200 bottles made, but there will only be 2,000 bottles or so of the 2022. Black olive, balsamic, textured woody notes, and a depth of full-bodied berry fruit meld together seamlessly across velvety tannins and a firm structure. It should hit its prime in about 8-10 years and glide elegantly into the future another 20-30.