Abel Mendoza 2020 Rioja Seleccion Personal 750ml

The 2020 Selección Personal could come from a different vineyard each year, but in the last few years, it has always been produced from a place called Marrate-El Bardallo in Labastida, one of Mendoza's favorite places for high-end wines. The uncrushed grapes fermented with indigenous yeasts from a pied de cuve in stainless steel, followed by malolactic in concrete and aging in French oak barrels for one year. It's a serious and elegant Tempranillo with a textured palate and very fine and chalky tannins. It has contained ripeness and nice balance. 2020 was a more austere and less aromatic vintage for this wine. 

Score: 94 points -- Luis Gutierrez, The Wine Advocate, 2022