The 2010 Seleccion Personal shows the intensity and balance of 50-year-old Tempranillo from the village of Labastida, with black and red fruit notes, licorice and a fresh touch of mint and aniseed. The palate reveals a powerful, yet subtle wine that grows on you as you go back to it. The wine has integrated the new oak very well. It has a clean, modern profile showing its roots. Drink 2014-2020. Abel Mendoza, a true vigneron from San Vicente de la Sonsierra, looks after 20 hectares of vineyards that his wife, Maite, turns into some 70,000 bottles per year. They started in 1988, like many others, selling a young, carbonic maceration red, and since then, sticking to their guns, they have slowly climbed all the way to the top. Nowadays they have no less than six whites, five varietal ones (they are only missing Maturana Blanca) and the last one a blend of all five local white grapes aptly called 5V. All white varietals are produced in the same way, fermented in new French oak barriques where they stay for five months in contact with its fine lees, so tasting them together makes for a fascinating comparison of the characteristics of the different grapes. I found their quality quite similar, and preferences come down to personal taste. Even though the winery seems to somehow have specialized in whites, they also produce a full and very noteworthy range of reds. Imported by Jose Pastor Selections, Richmond, CA; tel. (510) 237-0077; www.josepastorselections.com