Vera scored this wine: 93/100

Great aromas of dark fruit, cacao and oak hit my nose first, promising a gourmet experience. I wasn’t disappointed! This is an exceptional wine, full body yet not overpowering, with clean notes of dark and red fruit, spices and dust of bitter cacao. Perhaps slightly more bitter than some well known big reds. That made it even more interesting for me. Velvety tannins are noticeable but not disturbing the enjoyment. As the wine opens up, you realize that one glass is not going to be enough. At least for me it wasn’t. Long, seductive finish, returning the mouthful of bright, clean feel of fruit till the end. Beautiful, elegant and unique style of wine. It is already enjoyable while young, but it will age gracefully probably for at least a decade. Not like anything else I tasted before. Dry Full Body Aged in oak

Vera scored this wine: 93/100

this wine is made from very old vines – Tempranillo and Graciano grapes, with very low yields. That usually on its own is a promise of great, concentrated flavors in the wine. The wine really was a treat. Probably still too young (the critics predicted that this vintage may have potential to improve over 1-2 decades), but already quite approachable. Not at all big powerhouse, but fine, complex, lovely, silky wine that will go places in time (if I had more bottles, I would definitely love to try 2004 Aurus again in 5 years). But I don’t. Drinking this wine reminded me of those few beautiful days I spent in sunny Rioja. Dry Medium body Aged in oak

Vera scored this wine: 92/100

This wine offers intense, rich flavors of dark berries, with notes of baked plums, black currant and spices. The rich mouth-feel brings notes of dark chocolate, cocoa and layers of flavors. Excellent wine with balanced acidity, velvety tannins and seductive, long finish.

Vera scored this wine: 92/100

Intense aroma of dark cherries and light aroma of wild flowers. Beautiful, ruby color with purple tones. On the palate you taste ripe fruit, blackberries or dark cherries, dark chocolate and fine spicing. It reminds me of a really good Cotes du Rhone red. Garnacha here is incredibly balanced with just right amount of acidity and silky tannins. It’s worth to decant it or at least to leave the bottle open for an hour or so. It will slowly grow on your tongue, as you continue sip it. To me, this is very seductive, clean, elegant and impressive wine with a really long finish. Tres Picos is a wine of ridiculous value (as it always was) and I need to buy some more before it’s gone! Dry Medium-Full Body Aged in oak

Vera scored this wine: 91/100

2005 vintage was considered one of the best in decades for the Bordeaux. The prices of their top wines went through the roof. Therefore, it's a great thing when you find "value" from that vintage. And, it's worth to wait few years for wines like that. I can compare, since I first tasted this wine as soon as it was released. It was approachable then, but I knew it will develop even better in the bottle. Seven years later, Château Haut-Vigneau was a silky, medium body wine, with smooth tannins and perfectly balanced acidity. Lots of fruit reminded me of ripe plums and black currant, with tiny bit of smoke, white pepper and all spice. A superb, contemporary wine of amazing value (it sells under $20). Grapes for Château Haut-Vigneau were harvested by hand, and underwent a temperature controlled fermentation in stainless steel vats. It then aged in barrels for 15 months and was fined with egg-whites before bottling. Dry Medium-Full body Aged in oak