Jose Gil 2024 El Bardallo 750ml

The red 2024 Paraje El Bardallo, which I had already previewed last year and impressed me much, is really superb. It was produced with Tempranillo and 10% Viura from three plots in the paraje, or lieu-dit, that names the wine at 555 meters above sea level, one of the plots is ungrafted and all of them have soils with a high content of calcium carbonate. The grapes were super healthy—in 2023, they had hail twice! It fermented with 15% full clusters in concrete with indigenous yeasts and matured in 500-liter barrels for 11 months. It's a wine that has width and length and is very chalky, textured and serious, and there is a plus of complexity and elegance. It's a very complete wine, the finest vintage to date. There are 4,250 bottles produced.

Score: 97 points -- Luis Gutierrez, The Wine Advocate, 2026