Sierra Cantabria, Finca El Bosque Rioja, 2019

Vinedos Sierra Cantabria Rioja Finca El Bosque 2018 is a bruised blue/black colour, inky dark. Fine and complex on the nose, displaying floral notes, herbs, blackberry, creme de cassis, creamy toasted oak and coffee spice. The concentrated and dense palate has a profusion of oak, tannin, acidity and fruit, but is harmonious and well balanced. Savoury, rich, multi-layered and muscular in structure, with creamy oak, excellently textured silky tannins, and with bags of aromatic, ripe, dark fruit, somehow it retains a charming elegance. Youthful, beatifully delineated and with a very long, pure finish, Finca El Bosque is a wine that fluently expresses its terroir. In an ideal world this large-scaled wine would be cellared for a decade or so and drunk with relish over the proceeding twenty years.

A micro-cuvee Rioja made from 100% Tempranillo grown in Sierra Cantabria's gravelly 1.5 hectare El Bosque vineyard. Originally planted in 1973, the vines have now reached full maturity and supply an incredible quality of fruit which is hand-selected berry by berry. Finca El Bosque is put through its malolactic fermentation in new oak and is also matured in new oak - French and Romanian - for 18 months.

2018 Vintage Conditions

After the 2017 wine harvest there was very little precipitation until early December, when there was some snow followed by several days of light rain. On 6th January there was a heavy snowfall and, from then until the end of March, there was abundant precipitation, much of it in the form of snow, with around 360ml measured at the beginning of April. In April there was a slight increase in the temperatures, with bud break starting in the third week and the rain returning for several days. May began with cold temperatures overnight until the 12th May, when some lower areas had some light frost. From that date onwards, the temperature rose, leading to very fast plant growth, so much so that at the end of May, the earliest areas saw the first flowers, coinciding with a period of abundant rain. After the second half of June, temperatures rose, the rain stopped, and the growing season sped up, with full flowering beginning in mid-June and ending on 24th June. The month of July began with storms and lower temperatures than usual, with outbreaks of mildew appearing, which were kept under control since the temperatures were cool. From mid-July a dry and sunny period began. At the beginning of August the veraison began, and progressed quickly due to the good temperatures, which was followed by a dry August and early September, which greatly helped the development of the vines and the ripening of the grapes. In mid-September three days of light rain caused moments of uncertainty for the health of the grapes. However, because the rain stopped, the ripening process continued, proving healthy and balanced, producing larger grape sizes than in previous years. October began with temperatures within the annual average, and there was no rain at all. The wine harvest started on the 8th October for the white varieties (with the exception of Sauvignon Blanc and Tempranillo Blanc), and on 12th October for the red varieties, with the wine harvests being cool, sunny and dry.

This wine was award 96 points by Tim Atkin

• ❖ ABV: 15%