2017 Rioja El Velado

The higher-altitude vineyards, like some of the ones used for the 2017 El Velado, better resisted the spring frost of the year, and despite being riper, the wine has managed to keep its poise and balance. This comes from a plot at 600 meters in planted 80+ years ago. Like the other wines, it fermented in open 3,000-liter oak vats with indigenous yeasts and matured in barriques and foudres for some 15 months. They have kept the Burgundian bottle here because there is more Garnacha. This is a little more straightforward, with less complexity compared with the other single-vineyard bottlings, a lactic touch and chalky tannins. 1,524 bottles were filled in May 2019.