James Suckling 94
"Medium ruby hue, with a bright and racy nose thats full of pretty berries, redcurrants, fresh strawberries and potpourri. Medium-bodied and naturally juicy on the palate, showing lots of crunch and drinkability. Fresh, transparent and silky. Drink or hold."~J.S.

Wine Advocate 93
"They are going for lower yields and less bottles of the 2020 La Montesa and slowly putting prices up, as they feel the wine is more serious than what the perception of the affordable price makes it. 2020 is a powerful vintage; it's structured and textured, the oak is very nicely integrated (12 months in barrel, but the powerful wine absorbed it completely), and it's powerful with 14% alcohol and a pH of 3.55, a little darker than in previous years. The tannins are very fine with a subtle chalky texture. There were 2,319 barrels that resulted in 672,000 bottles, 10,000 magnums and some larger and smaller formats. It was bottled from April 2022.

I tasted the latest wines from Palacios Remondo as part of a tasting of Alvaro Palacios's full portfolio. I now include them here again for context and completeness of the Rioja article.

In Rioja, 2020 and 2021 were very different years. 2020 saw the worst mildew ever and was a very early harvest (like 2017); and 2021 was the driest ever but with a very cool summer, so the wines have concentration and great freshness. It seems like every year is the most something ever ..."~L.G.