Our Selección Especial Numerada range is reserved for some very special one-off parcels of wines where our Buyer for Spain has negotiated a great-deal price in exchange for winery anonymity. That’s exactly what you have here and this magnificent Gran Reserva Rioja has all the credentials. It’s pure, old-vine Tempranillo, which accounts for this great wine’s incredible intensity. Ageing for over two years in a mix of tight-grained French oak barrels and more opulently vanilla-scented American oak, and finished with over 30 months ageing in bottle, has lent layers of mesmirising complexity and length. This is a wine to savour – an ideal wine to save with slow-roasted lamb shoulder, game dishes or exotic mushroom tapas.

Superb, 2016 Single Vineyard Reserva Rioja from top ranking Bodegas La Emperatriz, that first won prizes for its wines in 1878 when it belonged to Empress Eugénie of France. Today brothers Eduardo and Victor Hernáiz own the impressive estate, comprising 101 hectares of high-altitude vineyards in the Rioja Alta. Many of their wines have been awarded over 90 points by Wine Advocate. With extensive vineyards, they have the luxury of using only estate-grown grapes and make a range of top-ranking wines. Rarely, however, do they make a Gran Reserva purely from this single, north-facing vineyard lying at 630 metres. The result is very slow-ripening grapes and a wine with superb structure, depth and impressive complexity. Only now is it opening out, revealing all its rich flavour. Open early – great with lamb.

Love red wines with easy fruit and elegance? This Joven (young) Rioja is a must-try. We’ve known the Bujanda family since 1984, when they completed their state-of-the-art winery. In fact, we were the first to introduce their wines to the UK. Four decades later, their cellar remains one of the finest in Europe, with a trophy cabinet full of awards and a top winemaker at the helm – Lauren Rosillo. This Joven is from the family’s beautiful Finca Valpiedra estate, whose vineyard is nestled in a bend of the Ebro river. Made entirely from estate-grown Tempranillo and aged for a year in bottle, it’s silky with bright strawberry and blackberry fruit. Smooth enough to sip solo, or pair with tapas, charcuterie or game.