R. Parker (95/100)
The 2023 El Calado del Espino is their third vintage of this white, produced with Viura grapes from two plots, one in San Vicente and a little bit from one in Labastida; one plot is 50 years old and the other is 80 years old on limestone-rich soils. The whole clusters were pressed in a pneumatic press and fermented in their underground cave in new and used 500-liter barrels and some 54-liter glass demijohns. It matured in those fermentation vessels for 11 months. It was the first year they used the pneumatic press and pressed the full clusters and only waited 24 hours to let the must settle. The wine smells of wet stones, from the soils of El Bardallo, which are very shallow and the rock is very close to the surface. It's aromatic with notes of dry flowers and herbs, a little bit of pollen and chamomile, and the palate is sharper and more balanced than the 2022. It has contained ripeness and 13% alcohol. A total of 1,780 individually numbered bottles were produced.
James Suckling (94/100)
Fresh, lightly creamy and quite intense on the nose with a touch of wasabi and minerals to the fruit. Medium- to full-bodied with good tension and acidity as well as roundness. Long and nicely generous at the end. Viura from Labastida. 13% alcohol.
Guía Peñin (93/100)