Review: Wines of Gonzalez Byass, 2024 Releases

We’ve covered wines from the sprawling Gonzalez Byass portfolio on many occasions, and today we look at a small collection of warm-climate bottlings, made alternately in Spain’s Ribera del Duero, Rioja and the Apalta region of Chile. All are very affordable. Let’s dive in.

2019 Dominio Fournier Ribera del Duero – 100% tempranillo. Brooding but tempered with a few years of time, this Ribera bottling showcases tar and leather atop blackberries and currants, with a punctuation of clove-heavy spice. Ample tannins remain heavy in the bottle here, making for a drying, mouth-puckering finish. A definitive food wine, with lingering notes of chalk and char, touched with a doughy but very dry quality on the finish. B+ / $30

2020 Beronia Graciano Rioja – Sultry and dense, this is one of the juicier Rioja wines I’ve encountered in recent memory, notes of plum, blackberry, and blueberry making for an immersive experience that wouldn’t be out of place as a pie filling. Layers of chocolate and baking spice inform a long finish that barely nods at the presence of tannins, with the wine still clinging to a citric acidity on the finish. Drink now; in three years this may well be fading. A- / $28

2020 Primus The Blend D.O. Apalta – A chewy Chilean blend of 40% carmenere, 35% cabernet sauvignon, 10% syrah, 10% petit verdot, and 5% cabernet franc. Lots of cassis and blackberry notes provide a heavy base of black fruit, tempered with notes of baking spice and some smoky touches of charred meat. Some sweetness perks up as the finish builds, taking things in more of a red fruit direction. Ample tannin keeps that in check, however; the conclusion is quite dry, almost chalky. B / $21

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