This is a beauty. Black impenetrable in the glass, a sharp, spicy nose clamoring briar, exquisite mineral and woody oak, deep, dark blackberry and black cherry headed *not quite* marachino–but you get the drift.

In the mouth, sharp and ALIVE, a textbook example of quality Gran Reserva at a ridiculously young age, beautiful to taste presently, but gobs of everything you want in your cellar for decades. Pitchy and dank–but not too much–the petrichor grating across the palate, chubby fruit NOT second-fiddle. It’s rich. It’s concentrated. It’s swollen with berry and bluster and the grasp of the tannin play a structural note second-to-none. More early-satisfaction than Tondonia, playing more along the lines of yGay depth and breadth and modern culmination, a beautiful Rioja begging for rest. Buy 2 cases–drink one a year.

2016 RAMIREZ de la PISCINA Tempranillo Gran Reserva DOC Rioja Spain 14.5

www.ramirezdelapiscina.com/
www.jorgeordonezselections.com/single-wine.php