DOCa Rioja Wine La Condenada Obtains Perfect 100-Point Score from Tim Atkin

Tim Atkin, the Master of Wine and award-winning wine writer behind the Rioja Report 2023, has recently helped a Rioja wine make history.

The report was officially presented at Barcelona Wine Week, and in it the wine La Condenada 2020, by winemaker Arturo de Miguel at Artuke Bodegas y Viñedos, became the first Rioja red wine to obtain a perfect 100-point score.

This family-run winery is located in Baños de Ebro, in Alava (Basque Country). It uses century-old traditions in vineyard cultivation and respectful agriculture, biodynamic methods, and very little intervention.

The wine impressed Atkin last year too, but this year it really won him over. La Condenada 2020 is a DOCa Rioja wine made primarily from Tempranillo grapes and then with a much smaller mix of Graciano, Palomino, and Garnacha Tinta grapes. It’s aged for 16 months in foudres and pairs very well with red meat, game, and cured cheeses. It is a structured, elegant wine with notes of ripe black and red fruit. It has a lively mouthfeel and a very lingering finish.

Two years ago, López de Heredia’s Viña Tondonia Gran Reserva Blanco 2001 wine received a perfect score. In t his 2023 report, it was named White Wine of the Year.