2001 Finca Villacreces Nebro

(the three barrels from the estate's oldest vines) Good deep ruby. Highly perfumed aromas of blackberry, cassis, licorice and graphite; showed almost Brunello-like dried fruits, chestnut and lavender with extended aeration. Penetrating and powerful, with perfectly integrated acidity intensifying the wine's extremely rich flavors and accentuating the impression of energy in the mouth. As sweet as this is today, it's also primary and utterly fresh, with perfectly judged oakiness. Expands and builds impressively on the back end. This was better every time I went back to it. If you can find and afford this wine, I'd give it at least four or five years in the cellar. (I retasted the 2001 Reserva and found my latest sample creamier and rounder than a bottle I tasted a year ago, with complex aromas and flavors of crystallized blackberry, licorice, bitter chocolate and fresh herbs. While hugely ripe, the wine carries no excess sweetness and boasts a steely structure and excellent grip. My latest bottle merited 92 points.) .