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Not far off the more limited production cuvée, the 2016 Aalto is another brilliant wine from this estate and is all Tempranillo brought up in 50% new oak. This ripe, sexy wine delivers loads of crème de cassis, vanilla, dried flowers, and spice box notes, with just a hint of background oak. Pure, incredibly well balanced, with sweet tannins, and medium to full body, it’s going to benefit from a year or two in bottle and keep for 15 to 20 years.
Critic scores
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Tim Jackson MW, jancisrobinson.com
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
100% Tempranillo from 60- to 80-year-old vines. 18 months in French and American oak. Mid-deep ruby-purple. Minty oak lift with torrefied caramel and coconut. Orange peel and ripe red fruit. Density of red- and black-cherry palate fruit is just enough to balance the compact, firm tannins. Warming finish, but polished, with plenty of vanilla length. (TJ)
When I tasted it, the 2016 Aalto had already been blended and taken out of the barrels, waiting to be bottled in a couple of weeks. It's still young and tender, with peachy aromas, a little creamy and with a soft palate where the tannins are fine-grained. In 2016, they used more vineyards, grapes from their own plots and others purchased from suppliers. They expect to fill some 280,000 bottles in late June 2018. 2016 was a higher-yielding year that provided fresh and balanced wines. It should age nicely.