2020 Lousas Parcela Seoane

The ripest of the single-vineyard wines is the 2020 Lousas Parcela Seoane, which still has a moderate 13.7% alcohol. It's a Mencía-based field blend with some 10% other grapes, red and white, from over 80-year-old vines at 350 to 450 meters in altitude. The grapes were picked early, on September 1st, and fermented with 100% full clusters that were foot trodden. It matured in neutral oak barrels of different sizes for 12 months. This is from a plot that suffers in warm vintages; it's the first to be harvested, and in 2020 they had to sort and discard. The wine is a little shy (it was bottled a couple of months before I tasted it), and it's a little more compressed on the palate. Only 1,000 bottles were filled in November 2021.