87pts View from the Cellar – 2018 vintage

“The 2018 Rioja “Acentor” from Isaac Fernandez is composed of a blend of eighty-five percent Tempranillo and fifteen percent Graciano and was raised in used French oak barrels for eight months prior to bottling. The wine comes in at fourteen percent and offers up a ripe and deep bouquet of black cherries, dark berries, cigar ash, a bit of tariness, spicy oak and a smoky topnote. On the palate the wine is deep, full and youthful, with a good core, firm, chewy tannins and a long, woody finish. The oak tannins on the backend here need time to integrate, as right now they are uncovered and rather drying. But, the wine seems to have enough stuffing to absorb them in due course and the wine should turn out to be good once the oak has been integrated, and it would have been good to let this wine settle in for six months longer in the cellar before shipping, as it is not yet ready for drinking. 2021-2024”

Excellent/Exceptional(2.5 Stars)   The Washington Post  – 2018 vintage

This savory red seems ideal for the weeks on either side of the autumnal equinox.  It greets the nose with jammy late summer aromas of blackberry pie, as well as a sense of a cool afternoon turning to dusk in a forest where the leaves have reached peak color and are almost, but not quite, ready to fall.  This wine begs to be paired with meat cooked over fire.  It’s young and should age well over the next five years if you’re willing to stock up