94 Jay Miller - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

"The 2005 Finca Sandoval is 76% Syrah, 13% Mourvedre, and 11% Bobal fermented with native yeasts followed by malolactic fermentation in barrel with lees stirring, followed by aging from 11-13 months in French and American oak, a mix of new and seasoned 225 and 300-liter barrels. Purple-colored, the wine offers up an alluring nose of toasty oak, mineral, floral notes, blueberry, and blackberry. This leads to a full-bodied, ripe, layered wine with superb integration of oak, tannin, and acidity. There is enough structure to support 3-5 years of evolution in the cellar. This outstanding effort should be at its best between 2012 and 2025."

"Inky purple. Sharply focused raspberry and blackberry scents are complemented by fresh flowers, licorice and graphite. Crisp and poised, offering intense, finely focused red and dark fruit flavors, and impressively silky texture and fully absorbed tannins. Fresh and energetic on the long, spicy finish. I suspect that this extremely impressive, syrah-based wine will put on weight and gain sweetness with a couple years of aging." -93+ Points - Josh Raynolds - International Wine Cellar

"Victor de la Serna’s idea was to start a vineyard and winemaking project from scratch, planting top-notch Syrah vines which he felt had more potential than the local large-berried Bobal. Winery is located in Manchuela, Casa Blanca region, province of Cuenca, 140 miles southeast of Madrid. Grapes are sourced from two vineyards with a total of 26 acres planted by Mr. de la Serna. Soils have a dominant clay-limestone component and belong to four different types: sandy-clay (very shallow and very poor), silty-clay soil, deep claylimestone and clay-dominated clay limestone soil. The climate is very harsh continental." -Importer