2018 Finca el Palacio, Luis Canas, Rioja, Spain

A lovely dark plum red colour, the ripe concentrated fruit aromas have a mineral touch, spice and notes of forest fruit preserve wrapped in tones of butterscotch. Concentrated and buttery, well-balanced with fine tannins and well balanced acidity. A long and expressive finish leaving a clear impresson of the mineral character of the terroir.

The Tempranillo, Graciano and Viura grapes (a field blend from a single plot) come from a single plot in Villabuena, in front of the cellar.

The harvested grapes are fermented in temperature-controlled French oak casks and macerated to extract their full potential. The resulting wine is then passed to French oak barrels where it undergoes malolactic fermentation to give it complexity and aromatic intensity while stabilising its colour. The wine is aged for a total of 15 months in new 500L French oak barrels from a selection of several top French coopers.