Sierra Cantabria, Viñedos De Páganos La Nieta, 2021

"The 2021 La Nieta is among the finest wines in its powerful, ripe and generously oaked, modern style of red Rioja. It's a single-vineyard Tempranillo with 14.05% alcohol, a pH of 3.63 and 5.8 grams of acidity. It comes from the 1.75-hectare vineyard that named the wine. It was planted in 1975 on silt, clay and sandstone soils in Páganos (Laguardia) at 525 meters above sea level and worked biodynamically (but not certified). The hand-destemmed grapes fermented in small 2,000-liter oak vats with yeasts selected from their vineyards and matured in new French oak barrels for 15 months. It felt very balanced, a little shy and undeveloped, elegant and fresh in this slightly cooler year. The grapes ripened slowly and had a full development of aromas and flavors, making the wine more nuanced and complex, while the palate kept very good balance with its freshness. The tannins are very complete and elegant. It opened up with time in the glass to more floral aromas, making it the most perfumed of the wines from the Eguren family that I tasted this time."

"A naturally concentrated red with a lifted chalky touch to its extremely healthy fruit. Blackberries, blueberries, fine spices, blue flowers, violets, dark olives and minerals. So fresh, juicy and sophisticated, with filigreed tannins that support and melt. Long, subtle and bright. Very linear and elegant in quality. Drink or hold."