2014 Tempranillo Grano a Grano

All that I found missing in the Seleccion Personal was present in the 2014 Tempranillo Grano A Grano, an exuberant, floral, spicy and perfumed nose that jumped out of the glass and defied the shortcomings of the harvest. It's modern, young, showy and unashamed, a hedonistic Tempranillo with nice integration of the oak despite having been aged in brand new French barriques for 18 months. But there's enough fruit, concentration, freshness and stuffing to take that elevage. The grapes were sourced from two plots in San Vicente de la Sonsierra and Labastida, El Bardallo and Santa Lucia, from 0.58 hectares of old vines (over 50 years of age) that yielded 3,900 kilograms per hectare. The bunches were destemmed by hand and the grapes fermented in 1,200-kilogram stainless steel vats, followed by malolactic in barrique and elevage in 500-liter oak barrels. Maybe the larger size of the barrels is partly responsible for the expressive nose and nice integration of the oak? 1,105 bottles were filled in May 2016. Feb 2018, www.robertparker.com