2014 Galia

The 2014 Galia has some 7% Garnacha to complement the majority of Tempranillo, but in the old vineyards there is always some white Albillo too. This wine had a longer élevage of some 21 months, which is something he felt the vintage demanded. The profile is floral and aromatic, with a combination of heady and ripe wild berries. Here he selected sandier soils with a limestone-rich subsoil and he found that, because of that sandy texture, close to 60% of the grapes used are ungrafted, some of them (from the Soria part) pre-dating phylloxera. There are grapes from Trigueros del Valle in Cigales and other parts of the Duero Valley, Cuevas de Provanco, Piquera, some in Ribera del Duero and even some new vineyards in Fuentelcésped, where he had a high percentage of Albillo. The wine is fragrant and open, with good ripeness and no excess. The oak is nicely integrated; the wine aged in a combination of barriques, 600-liter vats and 1,200-liter foudres (and later even 2,500-liter ones), and some concrete eggs, which seem to have provided the it with an elegant, polished and sleek texture. The palate is very balanced and with a good combination of power and elegance. The Garnacha clearly adds a heady touch in the finish, where for a second it took me to Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Super! 10,000 bottles produced.