The 2020 Hacienda Monasterio shows what Sisseck calls a "neo-classical" style of Ribera, with more freshness and 14.5% alcohol, harvested early and with higher yields. And possibly because of the Cabernet in the blend (around 10%), which also includes some Merlot and Malbec, the wine has great freshness (pH is 3.5) and avoids some of the excesses from the past. So, higher yields, an earlier harvest and careful oaking resulted in a more elegant wine. To me, it goes back to the benchmark Hacienda Monasterio, which for me is the 1996. A triumph over the natural conditions of the year. 211,200 bottles and some larger formats produced.

The 2019 Hacienda Monasterio is floral, aromatic and precise, showing good but contained ripeness, with 15% alcohol. It's a similar blend as in previous years—80% Tinto Fino, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot and 2% Malbec. This is the first vintage they used their new 10,000-liter oak vat, so there are more lots fermented separately and then blended to create this cuvée that shows very good balance, juiciness, concentration, structure and power but with freshness and balance. Their idea is to gradually replace the Merlot with Malbec and Cabernet Sauvignon, but that's going to be a slow process. They have 12 different soils classified on the property, and in 2019 they selected different soils for each wine, something that was not done in 2017; there will be more changes in this direction in the future. 182,666 bottles produced. It was bottled in June 2021.

The 2018 Hacienda Monasterio, the wine that was previously labeled as Crianza, is a blend of 80% Tinto Fino, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot and 2% Malbec selected from the 100 hectares of their organically certified vineyard in the west part of Ribera del Duero. It had a traditional fermentation, destemmed and in 8,000-liter stainless steel tanks (a change from the 20,000-liter vats used in 2016) with indigenous yeasts, and it matured for 18 months in French oak barrels, 25% new. This wine represents the character of the property, including all the grapes. It's still a little young, with a creamy twist, a little biscuity with hints of cereals, juicy and with tannins but with balance. This is a vintage that has great balance and freshness, but right now it's a little too oaky for me—but it should develop nicely in bottle. They are now in the process of replacing the Merlot with Malbec, because they think Malbec can work well in the Ribera del Duero. 220,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in June 2020.

The Crianza is now simply the 2016 Hacienda Monasterio, a powerful wine from a large vintage where the vines delivered a good crop of ripe grapes, even when the grapes were harvested early. They told me they have seen the climate change in their vineyards, and the ripe grapes and the wine now achieve 15% alcohol and it's very difficult to lower it. This is a generous and ripe wine with a juicy texture, ripe flavors and abundant, round tannins. It feels very young and undeveloped, and the wine seems to have the stuffing and balance for a positive development in bottle. The 2017 and 2018 vintages were fermented in the new smaller vats, 8,000-liter (instead of the 20,000-liter vats they had originally until 2016), which will allow them to vinify smaller lots. 240,530 bottles produced.

Licorice, mineral and smoke notes frame black cherry, plum and loamy earth flavors in this sleek red. Well-integrated tannins and juicy acidity support the polished texture. Balanced and elegant. Drink now through 2027. 1,512 cases imported.??–TM??Region: Spain / Ribera del Duero Select to Add