94 Points from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
I almost fell out of my chair when I smelled the 2014 Ganko. If the 2012 was voluptuous and heady, this 2014 is austere, cool, precise and chiseled. It has a slightly reductive nose with an intense stony/mineral sensation. There are floral notes, wild berries and some exotic spices. The blend has changed and it's now a 50/50 blend of Garnacha and Mazuelo, which provides acidity and a vertical sensation like no other vintage of Ganko in the past. This is all from the village of Cárdenas in the Alto Najerilla in Rioja Alta, from high altitude, old vines on sandy soils in a zone where only a bunch of small plots remain because it's hard to work. Rivière believes in this area to the point that he has purchased land to plant vineyards on some of the slopes. More than acidity, there is a sensation of freshness, which for me seems to come in good part from the soil. I'm really impressed. I'd love to see this wine in ten years' time...Pretty amazing value.