2017 Rozas 1er Cru

I tasted two very different vintages—2017 and 2018—of what they refer to as their 1er Cru blend of vineyards from the village of Las Rozas de Puerto Real. The 2017 Rozas 1er Cru is from a much warmer vintage, while 2018 was cooler. Despite the adverse conditions of the year—frost, hail and warm temperatures that resulted in very low yields and a very early harvest—this 2017 is still a fragrant and vibrant red, sort of a mini-Las Umbrías, delicate, floral, almost ethereal. 2017 is a very heterogeneous year, and some wines are surprisingly elegant and full of life. This has moderate alcohol and acidity, making it quite soft and tender. All the grapes come from the same zone of the village, a "paraje" known as Arroyo Mingogil, at the foot of the Cerro de los Corzos slope at around 900 meters in altitude. It's six different plots that make up five hectares of old vines on silt-rich sandy granitic soils. It fermented with full clusters and indigenous yeasts, had a long macerations in oak vats and matured in a 1,500-liter oak vat and a 1,400-liter concrete egg. These were some of the vineyards that suffered more from the problems of the year, and the wine shows a pale color with more evolution, now already orange, as well as developed aromas of tea leaves and cherries in liqueur, ripe with a herbal, celery-like twist, complex and almost tertiary à la Rayas. It seems older than it is—I'm gong to drink this vintage before 2016. 3,645 bottles and 150 magnums were filled in January 2019, a lot less than any other vintage (there are 15,000+ bottles of this in 2018) because of the problems with hail and frost.

This is a tiny production that is only about 20% of the normal production. Spice, white pepper and terra cotta. Medium body, fine tannins and a spicy, stylish finish Light color, as always, but full of character. Drink now.