2014 - Paganos Nieta, Rioja

I also had two vintages to taste of the top red from Páganos, starting with the 2014 La Nieta. The La Nieta vineyard, planted in 1975, has very shallow soils and produces concentrated grapes. The wine fermented with destemmed grapes and remontage, then matured in new French oak barrels for 16 months. The oak is more noticeable here than in the 2015 that I tasted next to it, not only on the nose but also in the texture and mouthfeel. I think this still needs a little bit of time in bottle. 5,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in July 2016.

(all de-stemmed grapes; fermented in open-top oak vats, with malolactic fermentation and 18 months of aging in new French oak casks) Inky purple. Powerful, highly perfumed aromas of ripe dark fruits, potpourri and incense, complicated by Indian spice, vanilla and woodsmoke nuances. Sweet, seamless and palate-staining, offering densely packed but vibrant black raspberry, cherry-vanilla and floral pastille flavors energized by a core of juicy acidity and a suggestion of peppery spices. Finishes sweet and extremely long, delivering outstanding finishing clarity and smooth tannins that blend seamlessly with the sappy fruit.