95 pts Wine Advocate
Drink Date: 2024 - 2030
The 2020 Tempranillo Grano A Grano was produced with hand-destemmed grapes from 70+-year-old vines that fermented in a small stainless steel tank with indigenous yeasts and matured in (mostly) 500-liter French oak barrels (some 20% of the volume was still in 225-liter barrels) for 18 months. The nose reveals more black than red fruit and an intense note of licorice. It has depth and power and is medium to full-bodied with abundant, slightly dusty tannins. 2,120 bottles were filled in May 2022.
Reviewed by: Luis Gutiérrez
Vigneron Abel Mendoza and his wife Maite Fernández described quite well what is happening with climate: "In recent years, we've experienced very irregular and changing weather, excess heat, episodes of drought and high temperatures, a very unequal distribution of rain and untimely incidents such as hail, frost or torrential rains. They are increasingly complicated vintages to which we will have to adapt since climate change is here to stay." Enough said.

They handcraft 80,000 bottles from their winery in San Vicente de la Sonsierra from the 25 hectares of vines, worked by hand without herbicides or pesticides, spread in 39 separate plots and averaging 38 years of age. Published: Feb 29, 2024

• 100% Tempranillo
• “Grano a Grano” literally means “Grape by Grape”. Each cluster of fruit is destemmed by hand
• The aim is to make a more serious wine where intracellular fermentation starts inside the berries and then the fruit is stomped by foot.
• Fermented in small tanks of no more than 1,200 kgs.
• After alcoholic fermentation, the skins are pressed into new 500-liter French oak barrels.
• Malolactic fermentation takes place in the barrel and the wine aged for 18 months before being bottled.

Not Yet Rated but here is the 2017 & 2018 review

No score for the 2019, but or comparison's sake here is the 2018 and 2017:

2018: 96 pts Wine Advocate
I'm amazed at the aromatics of the 2018 Tempranillo Grano A Grano, with notes of orange peel and flowers, incredibly aromatic and nuanced for a Tempranillo. The grapes were hand-destemmed in order to avoid the effect of a destemmer that might rip the grapes open and to keep them intact to make them go through a semi-carbonic maceration that generates a lot of aromas. As with the other wines, he is using more and more 500-liter oak barrels, and the oaking is subtler and the élevage 18 months. It has a vibrant palate, and the wine is very lively, with freshness and pungent flavors. 2,621 bottles were filled in May 2020. - Luis Guttierrez

2017: 94 pts Wine Advocate
“The nose of the 2017 Tempranillo Grano A Grano shows more nuance and especially more floral aromas than the Selección Especial from this same vintage, which is also Tempranillo. “Grano a grano” means “grain by grain” in Spanish, as the grapes for this range are hand-destemmed to avoid the effect of a destemmer that might rip open the grapes. So, the perfect grapes go through a semi-carbonic maceration that extracts a different range of aromas, and I found some common aromas with the Jarrarte Maceración Carbónica here. 2017 was a very challenging year, and the wine shows the effect of the élevage in 500-liter oak barrels that lasted 18 months. 2,375 bottles were filled in May 2019. - Luis Guttierrez