2020 | Telmo Rodríguez Matallana | Ribera del Duero | Spain

Telmo Rodríguez's singular Ribera del Duero — old-vine field blend, 96 points, with vineyard names literally redacted on the label.

Matallana is the Ribera del Duero flagship from Telmo Rodríguez and Pablo Eguzkiza — two of Spain's great terroir champions. It's a field blend of Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) with Navarro, Valenciano, Albillo and other indigenous grapes, from old vines across five villages and eleven plots. In protest of rules that forbid naming the sites, they black them out on the front label. The 2020 is the first vintage with Jean-Guillaume Prats aboard, sold via La Place de Bordeaux.

A 96-point, old-vine Ribera from a legendary team is serious collector territory. 96 WA, native field blend, La Place release → critics called it the best Matallana ever → at $112.99 you're drinking top-tier Ribera del Duero.

• Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) field blend with Navarro, Valenciano, Albillo & others
• Ribera del Duero — Spain
• Telmo Rodríguez & Pablo Eguzkiza — old vines, 5 villages
• 96 pts Wine Advocate · 14 months French oak · ~19,600 bottles

Baked black plum, black cherry compote and mulberry over crushed rock, tobacco and Provençal herbs with chalky, fine-grained tannins and a long, earthy finish. Translation: serious, savory, ageworthy Ribera — dark fruit wrapped in minerality and fine tannin, built to drink from now to 2040. Finesse over force.

A 96-point old-vine Ribera from one of Spain's greatest names. Exactly the bottle for the cellar or a serious dinner tonight.