Frontonio La Loma y Los Santos 2018

2018 was a rainier and cooler year with grapes that ripened slowly, and the eponymous Frontonio, the range that was the top before they started with El Jardín de las Iguales, now carries the name of the vineyards where the grapes come from. The 2018 La Loma & Los Santos, which also contains some Macabeo grapes, shows that sensation of completeness and harmony, with a combination of concentration from low yields of old vines and very good acidity and freshness. It was produced with grapes averaging 45 years of age from 1.4 hectares of vines in the villages of Épila (La Loma, Garnacha Blanca at 480 meters in altitude) and Alpartir (Los Santos, Macabeo at 610 meters) on slate and limestone soils; the names of the two vineyards are now mentioned on the label. It fermented with indigenous yeasts in their old cave in oak demi-muids and was kept with the lees in the same fermentation vessels to keep the reductive character. This wine has changed, because it used to be 100% Garnacha Blanca but is now close to a 50/50 blend of the two, and there is no new oak anymore. It's aromatic and nuanced, and the palate is liquid chalk and saline, structured, balanced and fresh. It's superb, serious, austere and mineral! 1,283 bottles produced. It was bottled in February 2020.