2005 - PS, Aalto, Ribera del Duero

The 2005 Aalto PS is 100% Tinto Fino from vineyards over 60 years of age. It was aged for 32 months in 70% new French oak. Saturated in appearance, the wine offers up notes of pain grille, balsamic, crushed stone, floral notes, and wild black fruits. Exceptionally powerful, focused, and beautifully proportioned, this full-bodied wine is dense, rich, and structured for the long haul. Give this super-long, impressive effort a decade in the cellar and drink it from 2018 to 2040. Patient purchasers will be well rewarded. Importer: Eric Solomon, European Cellars, Charlotte, NC; tel. (704) 358-1565

30 months in oak because this was such a good vintage. Usually 22 months. Complex aroma of dark-red fruit, some leather and undergrowth. Very oaky – too much for me, and I cannot see how it will ever be less so. Obviously great fruit, and the tannins are very fine but the oak swamps it for me. Impressive but I would not drink it for pleasure. Wine for masochists. (JH)