Vintage after vintage, Barón de Barbón proves to be our bestselling Rioja. It’s a lot to do with the wine’s enticing berry aromas, silky texture and luscious flavour. The talent behind this contemporary, fruit driven red is the young and infectiously keen Javier Murúa. His father Julián owns Bodegas Muriel (a winery Julián’s parents established in 1926) in Rioja’s superior Alavesa. We have a fabulous working relationship with the family, ensuring our Buyer Beth goes in straight after vintage and gets first refusal on the finest vats. With its easy going, ripe red berry flavours and fragrant vanilla character, this supple Rioja is great to drink on its own or with simple suppers such as lamb chops, char-grilled vegetable kebabs or chicken.

As Robert Parker says, “Spain leads the world for sensational wine bargains of character and soul”, none more so than its mature reds. Nowhere else produces mellow, barrel-aged wines of such remarkable quality and price. Take Palacio del Conde – a gorgeously complex, oaky 2015 from Valencia. Part of this region is close to the coast, while the more southerly part is inland, up in the hills, and dry. It’s there that winemaker Marta Martínez selects the finest, hand harvested – from 50 year old vines – Tempranillo grapes for this Gran Reserva, then ages the wine for three years in oak barrels. A wonderfully fragrant, silky red with mature redcurrant and strawberry fruit and a rich, toasty character. Sublime with roast lamb or tapas. Its three recent Gold wins show its drinking beautifully now.

Altos R, a boutique winery in the heart of the best terroir in Rioja, achieve an excellent balance of traditional vineyard methods combined with the latest developments in technology, allowing them to create a great range of unique modern wines. Their Crianza style (aged for at least two years) Tempranillo offers a powerful and complex nose, with notes of fresh fruits, spices, balsamic and toasted oak all perfectly integrated. The palate is structured, round, and balanced, making it an ideal companion to red meats or an assortment of cheeses.

Occupying some of the more elevated land in the Canberra District, Quarry Hill's climate is well-suited to produce one of the great red grapes of the world, tempranillo. Taking a cue from Spanish joven styles of young & fresh tempranillo, Quarry Hill's expression is fresh and bright-fruited, but guided in by the chewy skin tannin characteristic of the grape variety. The versatility of the wine means its not just for tapas or other Spanish foods, it also goes great with any grilled dishes or roast pork.

Mount Majura, from the emerging wine region of the Canberra District, considers Tempranillo as their flagship variety. With a dense core of dry savoury tannin, interwoven with fleshy cherry and blueberry fruit, and embroidered with a host of aromas, from sweet spices and pomegranate, to malt and leather.

Castillo Ygay Tempranillo from the famed Rioja region in Spain was one of the stars of the show at the recent Dan Murphy's Wines of the World Expo! Complex roasted chestnut/mocha/dark berry/leather fruit with superb richness, underlying savoury nuances and ripe chocolaty tannins. Although matured for 31 months in American oak, the oak and fruit integration is sublime.

There are minuscule volumes produced of the Cirsion by Bodegas Roda (the name of the thistle which is Roda's logo) which is made from grapes specially selected for the suppleness of the tannins they deliver. Parcels selected are from low-yielding older Tempranillo vines of 45 years and more, from four vineyards. Choosing the plants with the softest tannins, this makes the wine very attractive and supple early on, but it still has great ageing potential.

This exciting Spanish black grape shows hints of red spicy berries, liquorice, raspberries and cherry, with good fleshy finish.

Stephen Pannell continues to excel with his amazing array of intriguing varietals and blends, capturing significant attention amongst critics and consumers alike. He is without a doubt a name to keep an eye on! Leap into something a little different and unique here, with a blend that manages to capture the essence of the Iberian Peninsula, Spain. Bright and juicy with medium weight, a highly perfumed spectrum of plum and dark berry fruits meet exotic spice and scented florals. There's even a slight meaty character adding to the complexity and gentle savoury tannins round out the package. In a word, delicious! 'The cool, wet summer of 2010-11 has imparted peppery and vegetal aromas, while the palate is medium-bodied and slightly edgy, with some leanness and not a lot of flesh. Smooth, appealing current drinking. A nice take on Portuguese - style reds. Ready to drink now to 2020.' - 90/100. - Sydney Morning Herald, 04 Jun 2013, by Huon Hooke.