Amancio 2014 Magnum

The 2014 Amancio is selected from individual vines in their south-facing 16.5-hectare vineyard, La Veguilla, in San Vicente de la Sonsierra, which was planted with a massal selection of Tempranillo in 1975. They only selected the perfect bunches (between 8% and 19%) that were hand-destemmed, and the individual grapes were selected again before they were put through a six-day cold soak. It fermented in 1,000-liter oak vats, with foot treading and 18 days of maceration, and went through malolactic in French barriques, where it matured for 24 months. It has some lactic notes, ripe fruit, some tertiary notes starting to develop and some iron-like sensations. The palate is quite austere, with plenty of chalky, fine-grained tannins and a dry finish. Like many other 2014s, this is more expressive on the palate than on the nose; it has the freshness of the vintage. They release this wine later than the rest of the portfolio—this was launched in October 2017. The 2015 will be released in October 2018 because the structure of the wine is different, and they think it will benefit from some more bottle time. 4,000 bottles were filled in February 2017.

The 2014 Amancio comes from a more challenging vintage, yet they’ve certainly produced a brilliant wine. Made from a single parcel of primarily Tempranillo and aged 24 months in new French oak, it sports a deep purple color as well as an intense nose of cassis, toasty oak, lead pencil, and cedary spice. With medium to full-bodied richness, terrific purity, and an awesome finish, it doesn’t have a huge density or mid-palate, yet is just beautifully balanced, silky and elegant. It needs 3-5 years of cellaring and will keep for two decades or more.