1 | Wine | Tempranillo, $10 to $20, 2009

"Aromas of toasty oak, graphite, balsamic, incense, and black fruits are followed by a dense, powerful Tempranillo from the great 2009 vintage. Rich, savory, and pleasure bent, it is a great value."

"Exhibits a dark ruby/purple color, loads of fruit (black currants and cherries), licorice and forest floor notes, a supple texture, medium body, and considerable flavor authority as well as character."-Robert Parker

"A glass-coating opaque purple color (a trademark of the 2009 vintage in Toro), it surrenders an inviting perfume of violets, spicy black fruits, and an earthy minerality. Displaying some complexity as well as succulent fruit, this lengthy effort is an outstanding value that can be enjoyed now and over the next 6+ years."

"Glass-staining ruby. A fragrant bouquet evokes cherry-vanilla, violet and spices. Juicy and open-knit, offering zesty red and dark berry flavors and a touch of vanillin oak. Finishes smooth, gently sweet and long, with the cherry note echoing. This is already approachable."

"The 2009 Crianza is sourced from Rioja Alta and Alavesa: pure Tempranillo aged in French and American barrels for 12 months. It has a perfumed bouquet of ripe strawberry and Morello, with well-integrated oak that allows the fruit to shine. The palate is very supple and rounded on the entry with corpulent red cherry and cassis fruit. The finish is well-defined, crisp and vibrant, lingering nicely in the mouth."

"There's good density to the ripe flavors in this supple, velvety red, offering black cherry, kirsch, cola, leaf and licorice notes over light, firm tannins that give this the structure to match with food."

"Opaque purple in color, it offers up a brooding bouquet of earthy minerality, Asian spices, incense, and assorted black fruits. Velvety-textured, sweetly-fruited, layered, relatively forward, and lengthy, this seamless effort admirably reveals the strengths of the great 2009 vintage and is a superb value to boot."

"The purple-colored 2009 Prima is made up of 90% Tinta de Toro and 10% Garnacha aged for 12 months in seasoned French oak prior to bottling without filtration. Earthy minerals, espresso, truffle, licorice, and blackberry aromas lead to a ripe, dense, sweetly-fruited, layered wine lacking only complexity."

"It has a well-defined, elegant bouquet of blackberry, sage and orange zest, the latter really coming forth with aeration. The palate is well-defined with supple tannins and layers of refined red fruit that caress the mouth and lend it a smooth, velvety finish that is impossible to resist."