Vinedos de Paganos El Puntido Gran Reserva 2007

Of the four levels of Tempranillo, the Gran Reserva is the top shelf of Rioja and turns out the most complex, age-worthy wines in all of Spain. It’s required that these wines be composed of only the very best grapes of the vintage, and then aged two years in oak and another three in bottle. Just that alone will give you big, bold tannic wines that can match up with the depth and age-worthiness of Napa Cabs as much as five times the price tag.

But sometimes, the Bodega will go a step further – like they did here at Vinedos de Paganos. Drawn entirely from a single vineyard, the Puntido continued to just get better in the bottle, year after year, after year. Knowing exactly what they had in hand, the winery just waited. First three additional years. Then two more before sending it off this past summer to Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate where it was absolutely raved about and given a 96 point score – the highest of the entire vintage.

While some of the other wines from this classic vintage are mature – the El Puntido is only now starting to hit its stride. This argues for buying at least two to four bottles. One for now, just to see how it’s doing and a few to set aside for the years to come. For serious wine collectors, this shouldn’t be missed.