The prestigious US magazine, Wine Enthusiast, recommended close to 20 Spanish wines from a total of 57, which were rated by its team of experts, in its recent August issue. In the magazine’s ‘Buying Guide’ the publication’s wine connoisseurs selected five wines as part of the ‘Editors’ Choice’ range, three under DO Priorato and two under QDO Rioja, as well as a dozen more labels, from various regions, which scooped places on the ‘Best Buy’ list.

From among the five ‘Editor’s Choice’ wines chosen by Wine Enthusiast’s experts , ‘Vall Llach 2005’ under DO Priorato and ‘Dalmau 2004’ under QDO Rioja both tied with 95 points. Two wines from the same two regions, ‘Vall Llach Idus 2005’ from Catalonia and ‘Conde de Salceda Reserva 2004’ from La Rioja also came to a tie draw with 93 points. And lastly, another wine from bodega Vall Llach, ‘Embruix 2005’, was rated with 92 points.

In the ‘Best Buy’ category, the experts included half a dozen QDO Rioja wines: ‘Ramón Bilbao Crianza 2005’ (88 points), ‘Marqués de Cáceres Rosé 2007’, ‘El Coto Rosado 2007’, ‘Marqués de Cáceres Viura 2007’ (all three with 87 points), ‘Conde de Valdemar Rosado 2007’ (86 points) and ‘Esencia Valdemar Rosado 2007’ (85 points).

The following wines also found themselves a spot on the ‘Best Buy’ list: three whites under DO Rueda, all made by Bodegas Pedro Escudero: ‘Valdelainos Verdejo 2007’ (the best rated wine in this category with 90 points), ‘Fuente Elvira 2007’ (89 points) and ‘Valdelainos Mezcla de Varietales 2007’ (86 points); two Vinos de la Tierra de Castilla: ‘Reinares Rosé 2007’ and ‘Solaz Blanco 2007’ (with 85 points each) and an Albariño under DO Rías Baixas: ‘Nessa 2007’ (87 points).

Wine Enthusiast was founded twenty years ago; with a readership of around 500,000 it is regarded as one of the two most influential wine magazines in the US.