The red 2018 VX Cuvée Primo was produced with Sousón, Caí?o Longo, Caí?o da Terra, Carabu?eira (Touriga Nacional) and Mencía that reached 13.7% alcohol and matured in 500-liter oak barrels for 30 months. The nose is quite perfumed, with notes of violets, ripe berries and spices, quite exuberant but less marked by the oak than I thought. It's more noticeable in the palate, where it shows in spicy flavors and a tannic texture. It should show better with food. 1,500 bottles were filled in June 2022.

The 2009 VX Cuvée Primo is a red from an era when most of the reds from Spain had a very similar profile of high ripeness and alcohol, color, extraction and generous oak, all wanting to be like a Ribera del Duero. This, 10 years after, is still dominated by oak aromas and flavors, and I guess that will never change. It could be a red from almost anywhere. Not my cup of tea. For fans of oaky reds. Good in its style. 2,500 bottles produced.

Even bigger is the 2007 VX Cuvee Primo, a blend of Sousón, Cai?o Longo, Cai?o da Terra, Carabu?eira (Touriga Nacional) and Mencía which undergoes an extended aging (bottled in May 2011) in brand new 300- and 500-liter French oak barrels. This is a wine that does not carry the official Ribeiro appellation with marked balsamic aromas of charred wood, cigar ash, end-of-the-nineties style incense notes with some volatile hints. The palate is full-bodied with plenty of tannins and a dry finish, enough acidity and plenty of dry extract. It feels like the winemaking and aging marked the wine much more than the place or grape. It comes through as a modern, well-made, highly extracted and well-oaked red in an XXL style that feels a little anonymous, but is very good within its style. It could be a red for the long haul, but if it shows such aggressiveness at this age, I have my doubts that are represented by the question mark. 2,500 bottles produced.