Professional reviews
Robert Parker (98)
The finest Yjar to date has to be the 2021 Yjar. It's super elegant and aromatic and has more finesse than the Gran Vino, subtler, nuanced and insinuating. It's seamless and balanced, very harmonious, with ripeness, concentration and power but very elegant. It fermented in small oak vats and matured in foudres and barrels of different sizes for 30 months. It has a seamless palate with very elegant and fine tannins, the 2021 signature and very good freshness too. 10,500 bottles produced. It was bottled in May 2024.
James Suckling (100)
Crushed dark berries are complemented by violets and underbrush with a gentle touch of tobacco. The sophisticated palate shows exceptional definition and polished tannins that are seamlessly integrated into a core of vibrant, restrained fruit. It’s all held together by a linear freshness characteristic of the vintage. This wine has depth, persistence and an incredibly stylish profile. Firm yet with an underlying tenderness. Beautiful now but will continue to evolve. Drink or hold.
Jancis Robinson (17.50)
Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano, Granegro (Gran Negro, or Grand Noir?), Rojal (a synonym for (white) Alarije apparently). From Labastida (Álava) in the foothills of the Sierra de Toloño at 600–800 m above sea level. From a vintage Telmo R expected to be one of the great classics like 1964. Harvest 14–24 October. Fermentation with native yeasts in small open-top wooden vats. Bottled 23 May 2024; 10,050 bottles produced.
Still very closed. Savoury, tightly knit fruit on the palate. Delicately balanced on a tightrope. All reined in. The most youthful wine tasted so far at this Beyond Bordeaux showing. (JR)
Vinous (96)
The 2021 Yjar comes from 3.8 hectares of old vines in Remelluri, Labastida. Comprising Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano and others, it aged for about 30 months in foudres and barrels. Classical in style, it features undergrowth, cotton candy, cherry and herbal notes, framed by subtle touches of oak. Broad, juicy and textural, with fine tannins and a gentle balsamic finish, this is a nuanced, refined Rioja that marries tradition with the profound character of the Sonsierra.
