2014 Mustiguillo Finca Calvestra

There is a clear step up in the white 2014 Finca Calvestra, a varietal of the rare local grape Merseguera, which is a Mediterranean grape that doesn't have much of a reputation. The grapes are harvested from head-pruned, dry-farmed vines re-grafted on Bobal plants from the 1970s, situated at 920 meters altitude in their Calvestra estate, where they also produce a superb olive oil. It fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured in contact with the lees for nine months in 225-liter acacia wood barrels. The acacia wood is quite subtle, a lot less aromatic than oak, and they are thinking about ordering some foudres made with this wood. It's quite floral, still very fresh and lively. The Merseguera only has medium acidity, but with a low pH that provides for very good freshness and the ability to develop slowly in bottle. It's very tasty, with a nice sensation that made me think of the chalky soils. I also previewed the 2015 from barrel, which will be bottled in a few months; it was surprising how clean the wine was and how the wood feels very nicely integrated. These wines seem to develop very slowly and it will be interesting to follow their evolution in bottle. Some 8,000 bottles produced.