Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2015 Los Arrotos del Perdón is a pure Prieto Picudo from León, from an ancient vineyard. It fermented with full clusters and indigenous yeasts in concrete with a very long maceration, and then it matured in 500-liter oak barrels. It's a lot less aggressive than the majority of Prieto Picudo wines, and it's not as rustic as you might expect, as it was produced inside the cooperative of Villacabriel. Raúl Pérez told me that the secret to tame this variety is to age the wine under a veil of yeasts à la Sherry or Jura, even though it sounds weird. I have heard of other reds aged under flor, but this is the first time I have heard that it not only helps to age the wine and protect it without the use of sulfur but also that it polishes the tannins (it polymerizes them). There you go! It has 13.5% alcohol and a super low pH. A great, unexpected Prieto Picudo.
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Decanter
Prieto Picudo from a 2ha parcel at 900m, vinified with stalks and aged for two years in used French oak. It's a wine with a distinctive character, showing an amazing nose of liquorice, caramel, blackberry and floral notes. The palate is tannic but soft, fresh, open and deep; a nice original style. Drinking Window 2018 - 2025
Spanish red wine is known for being bold, heady, rustic and age-worthy, Spain is truly a one-of-a-kind wine-producing nation. A great majority of the country is hot, arid and drought-ridden, and since irrigation has only been recently introduced and (controversially) accepted, viticulture has sustained—and flourished—only through a great understanding of Spain’s particular conditions. Large spacing between vines allows each enough resources to survive and as a result, the country has the most acreage under vine compared to any other country, but is usually third in production.
Of the Spanish red wines, the most planted and respected grape variety is Tempranillo, the star of Spain’s Rioja and Ribera del Duero regions. Priorat specializes in bold red blends, Jumilla has gained global recognition for its single varietal Monastrell and Utiel-Requena has garnered recent attention for its reds made of Bobal.