The Wine Advocate #257 -  22th Oct 2021 - Luis Gutiérrez - 2017 Hacienda Monasterio • Reserva - 95/100 - 2021-2026
Somehow I didn't taste the 2017 Hacienda Monasterio, but I did taste the 2017 Reserva, which is quite impressive for such a challenging year in Ribera del Duero. They suffered less from the frost on the property, which is quite warm and usually frost-free. The wine has a seductive nose that combines raspberries and cranberries with herbs and flowers. It's ripe at 15% alcohol, but it does not show heat or alcohol. This is 80% to 82% Tinto Fino and the rest Cabernet Sauvignon that matured in barrel for some 20 months. It's medium to full-bodied, juicy, rich and velvety, with fine, chalky tannins. The wine really transcends the challenges of the vintage and delivers more than I expected. 35,000 bottles produced.

Tim Atkin - Ribera del Duero 2021 - Hacienda Monasterio Reserva 2017 - 96/100 - 2022-2030 - (15%) 
Hacienda Monasterio suffered less from the spring frost in 2017, as it did in 1997, so it's no surprise that this is one of the best wines of the vintage, even though the crop was substantially reduced by the drought. Marrying Tinto Fino with 20% Cabernet Sauvignon - the latter grape is a key part of the bodega's style - this is a ripe, perfumed, textured delight, with cassis, pine and rosemary notes, a hint of graphite, fine oak and underlying balsamic complexity.