Bodegas Neo Punta Esencia 2001

Professional Ratings

• 95 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  A brilliant effort from 80-year old Tempranillo vines, aged 20 months in new French oak, and bottled without filtration, Fernandez has hit the bull’s eye with the impressively endowed 2001 Neo Punta Esencia. More similar to a Bordeaux first or second-growth than a Spanish Ribera del Duero, it boasts an inky/ruby/purple color as well as a sensational perfume of espresso roast, graphite, black currant liqueur, and pain grille. Full-bodied and youthful, tasting more like a barrel sample than a finished wine, it is loaded with potential and built for the long haul. My instincts suggest cellaring it for 2-3 years, and drinking it over the following 10-15.
• 91 Wine Enthusiast
  Inky dark, with coconut, baking spice and leather on the otherwise fruity nose. There's a lumber yard's worth of oak here, but overall it works. The spice element is undeniable, while the quality of the fruit supercedes any raw wood quality. A bit simple and forward, but nothing to take issue with.