2022 Miguel Merino "La Loma" Rioja
96TA
94VN
93DC
93RP
90JD
$64.99
Limit of 2 Per Customer
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Only 4 left
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San Francisco: 4
96
Tim Atkin
Reviewed February 2025Comparatively firm and backward in style, certainly when you compare it with the stellar 2021, this has the tannic imprint that's a feature of some 2022 reds. Sourced from a vineyard of limestone and red clay that was planted in 1946, it's a serious cuvée of Tempranillo and 10% Garnacha with aromas of tar and dried blood, lots of grip and focus, some wild herbs and a core of plum, liquorice and black cherry. Needs time. 2026-36
Professional Reviews
94
Vinous
The 2022 La Loma shows a slightly reductive profile on the nose, with black fruit, floral tones and a hint of balsamic nuance opening it up. On the palate, it is juicy and flavorful, carrying good intensity and detail, framed by light grip and a touch of oak toward the finish. While the style feels commercially polished, it remains well contained, though the tannins are still a bit tight for now. A very appealing wine. (JH)
93
Decanter
Super-expressive blueberry fruit, pure Tempranillo. There's enough grip from the tannins but they are ripe and sweet. Texture is lively, with a certain stony freshness. A wine without much makeup – there's a real purity. A little bit of spice on the finish. (BW)
93
Wine Advocate
93+ points. The 2022 La Loma comes from a single vineyard they have been working since 2021 (bottled separately since 2015), and in 2022, he managed to purchase it. It's a vineyard that has always been special for them, mostly Tempranillo with some 10% Garnacha from vines planted in 1946 in the higher zones of La Demanda. It fermented with destemmed but uncrushed grapes and indigenous yeasts in a small vat and matured for 14 months in used 500-liter French and Austrian barrels. It's ripe and perfumed; this year, it reached 14.5% alcohol, keeping the elegant and serious profile, a little more exuberant perhaps, with darker fruit but with polished tannins. (LG)
Notes
La Loma is a single vineyard planted in 1946 in the village of Briones. Just 1.4 hectares in size, this diminutive vineyard faces east and is comprised of three varieties, all trained in the traditional bush-vine system: Garnacha Blanca (which goes into the Miguel Merino Blanco Rioja), Garnacha and Tempranillo. It ages for 14 months in 500L used French oak barrels, to allow the character of the vineyard and old vines to shine through without excessive influence from new oak. Richly structured and grippy, this is a Rioja that will age for decades to come.
Details
| Origin | Rioja, Spain |
|---|---|
| Type/Varietal | Tempranillo |
| Alcohol Content | 14% |
| SKU | 1952862 |