Pagos de Tahola Selección de Martin 2011

Perfectly mature, barrel-aged reds have been Rioja’s trademark for centuries. And fourth-generation Ruth Chavarri makes some of the best we’ve tasted.

For her latest release, she went straight to El Toro, her family’s oldest vineyard and home to a plot of gnarled, 50-year-old Tempranillo vines. Dotted with huge (fun to climb!) holm oaks, it’s also a favorite stomping ground for her young nephew, Martin, who is the inspiration for this very wine.

Don’t let the playful origins of the cuvée name fool you, though – this is serious stuff. Ruth and her vineyard team hand-harvested the grapes during Rioja’s officially “excellent” 2011 vintage; after two years mellowing out in expensive French oak barrels, plus an additional four years resting in the bottle, “Selección de Martin” was released to huge acclaim, winning gold from the tough judges at Mundus Vini 2020.

The old vines of El Toro have painfully tiny grape yields – meaning Ruth only made a small amount of this beauty and you WILL have to hurry to get your share.