Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
I tasted the 2018 P.F. next to the 2019. The two vintages were quite different, and it's great to see them side my side. The vinification and élevage are the same, in the last few years shorter, which makes them approachable from early on. This has a lighter color than the 2019, and it's a little more austere and closed, serious and more reductive, not as immediate as the 2019. From this vintage onward, the wine is exclusively in 4,500-liter oak foudres, as they have abandoned the 600-liter oak barrels. This is truly outstanding and, like most of the wines here, a real bargain for the quality it delivers. It has to be one of the finest, if not the finest, vintages for this wine. There are some similarities with La Casilla with extra depth and complexity. 9,000 bottles were filled in August 2019.
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James Suckling
A firm, fresh red with blackberry, walnut and cedar character. It’s medium-bodied with creamy tannins and a pretty finish. Serious and very layered.
Bobal is enjoying a mini renaissance in Spain today as high-elevation vineyards in its homeland of Utiel-Requena produce dense and velvety wines dominated by dark berry and cocoa characteristics. However, its function as Spain’s second most planted red grape variety was once only for bulk wine and concentrate. Since it is drought-resistant, it does well grown as unirrigated bush vines and acts as a fine voice of terroir. Somm Secret—Bobal also shows great potential for rosé and sparkling wines because of its high levels of acidity and anthocyanins.
The Moors gave it the name, ‘Manxa,’ which fittingly means ‘parched earth.’ La Mancha, the largest Spanish wine producing region in all of Spain, is one of its hottest and driest. Sturdy and drought-resistant white varieietes like Airen, Viura and Verdejo thrive in this environment.