Guimaro, Ribeira Sacra, Finca Meixeman

Aerated for about 2 1/2 hours, served in a Spiegelau Definition Burgundy Glass. Translucent ruby colour, garnet rim. Nose: The wine starts off with juicy cherry, strawberry and some hints of rosehip. Savoury nuances of black tea, wet soil, crushed stones and blood come through after a while. Touches of cracked black pepper and orange peel towards the end. Palate: Tart cherry and rosebud come through in the beginning, notes of black pepper, wet leaves and black tea take over …

Excellent wine. Started off heavy on the red fruit but with a bit of time showed nice oak and great balance. Had a bit of Cabernet Sauvignon nose at some point but with a lovely Pinot noir elegance

Pnp at Dalida. Quite pretty. Would prefer more acid. 13%

Deeply red, floral and spiced berry notes on the nose, bright with energy, suave tannin and a load of mineral weaved into the palate, flavors of dried cherry, earth and herbs, delicious and juicy, amazing and delicious, need to get more

wild sour cherry, wild grape, bramble bush, eucalyptus and soy sauce on the nose. Gorgeous balance of unripe fruit and savory character. Palate is concentrated with a bitter after taste that softens out a little as it opens up. Easily contends with Burgundy Pinot and Cru Beaujolais twice or three times it's price. Fantastic.

Sweet fruited raspberries, loganberries and blackberries with a savoury and minerally twist. Vibrant developing a little silk and cream with pleasing tannins and decent length with a bitter upturned finish. This had some complexity. CHP 89 pts

Master class "The new Spain" with Andreas Kubach MW (Hochschule Geisenheim, Germany) : Wine 5. 80% Mencia, blended with a broad range of other varietals, from 70-year-old vines. 13% ABV. Light ruby colour. Good blue and red fruit and some stemmy notes, with medium-level acidity and very good length. Light on its feet. Good balance and freshness. Very drinkable.

Keith Levenberg's June 2015 Note is spot on. This is definitely bigger proportioned (and higher alcohol) than some of the entry level Ribeira Sacra's I've been loving (and in 11 I preferred Ventura to Guimaro), but this is a much more serious wine. The first night the wine showed a hint more green than I'd expect but by night two this wine had fleshed out and was just lovely. It didn't have the nervy elegance of an Algueira Merenzao I …

There's lots of delicious Ribeira Sacra out there but this is one of the particularly old vine examples and it does strike me as more serious than most. Lots of hearty fruit here with a leathery sheen and that old-vine sap and a slatey, almost metallic mineral element. The mouthfeel is soft but classy. There is so much fruit sap here that the tannins are not a huge factor but with that sheen it feels like the most supple leather.

Breathed in glasses around 30 min before serving. The nose shows some oaky spice & red plums accented with some light herbal aromatics. Great depth & detail. Focused palate with cool red fruits leading to dsrker notes on the mid palate. Strong acid backbone which adds a layer of brightness. Clean almost crisp finish. Very nice bottle of Mencia.

The Real Wine Fair 2013 (Tobacco Dock, Wapping) : Sweet red cherry - similar aromatically to NZ Pinot. Lots of sweet, ripe fruit. Oaky texture. A little cloying. 16/20.