First release: Sínodo 2023

From a 60-year-old, 0.5ha field blend in Uruñuela, near Cenicero in Rioja Alta, this stunning single-plot wine offers remarkable purity and depth of fruit. tempranillo makes up 52% of the blend, alongside small proportions of mazuelo, viura, garnacha and maturana tinta. The tiny plot sits at 510m altitude and is exposed to the cooling Cierzo wind, adding freshness and lift. The name Centales derives from Centenales, a reference to the rye fields that historically occupied this site, as rye was well suited to the dry, infertile soils. Everything is small-batch, by hand, working with gravity and natural yeasts. After 11 months in large French oak vats, which act more to bring complexity and structure rather than over oak, it’s already buoyant and alive, revealing cassis, black cherry and wild strawberry, interwoven with subtle sweet spice, almond and a touch of liquorice. Silky-smooth tannins frame a beautifully modern expression of Rioja. It’s lovely young, but will surely age beautifully. Less than 1,800 bottles were made in total. Drink from 2027 to 2036. 14%

The Los Tollos plot is another tiny parcel, covering just 0.24ha, this time located in Villamediana de Iregua in Rioja Oriental, a stone’s throw from Marques de Murrieta estate. Planted in 1982, the vineyard was acquired by the three friends in 2014, who found it abandoned and under threat of being grubbed up. Recognising the potential of the site, with its sandy-loam soils and large pebble stones that provide excellent drainage, they set about carefully restoring the vineyard vine by vine. The result is a wine of tiny production, less than 1000 bottles, but one that speaks powerfully of both place and perseverance. Sitting at 430m altitude in a well-ventilated position, the vineyard naturally produces fruit with remarkable freshness, balance and precision. They co-ferment tempranillo with 2% mazuelo and 2% malvasía riojana, creating a Rioja of purity and depth, layered with notes of plum, wild strawberry and mountain herbs, with a long, classy, moreish finish. Drink from 2027 to 2036. 14%

Raposeras is the jewel of the Sínodo’s trio, from a single tempranillo plot (with 1% garnacha) planted in 1916 by Juan Antonio’s great-grandfather. There’s something thrilling about how alive this wine feels, full of cranberry, black cherry and blackberry, deepened by plum and cassis and a hint of cinnamon spice. It has both tension and generosity, power and grace. Irresistible now for its perfume and vibrancy, yet clearly built to age with time with some chalky grip on the finish. Drink from 2027 to 2036. 14.5%