2011 - Paganos Nieta, Rioja

The 2011 La Nieta is a 4,000-bottle cuvee of pure Tempranillo sourced from a single vineyard in Paganos (Laguardia). As one would expect, this 2011 is extremely young, but keeps the freshness you always find in the wines from this vineyard, perhaps with a little more structure than the 2010. It is dense, powerful yet elegant. The nose is extremely primary with notes of fruit (ripe peach), licorice, and the oak perfectly folded into the juicy wine showing just a hint of spices. This is a great La Nieta in the making. Drink 2016-2030. Vinedos de Paganos is a small winery belonging to the Eguren family in the Alavesa part of Rioja, in the village of Paganos, Laguardia, where they had family vineyards. They built a small winery excavating new caves, some of them underneath the vineyards. They produce two single vineyard wines there, El Puntido and La Nieta, but the news is that since 2005 there are two version of El Puntido as in that vintage they started producing a Gran Reserva versions of it. Did I mention that tradition and modernity seem to be converging? Imported by Fine Estates from Spain, Dedham, MA; tel. (781) 461-5767

(all tempranillo; fermented in large oak casks and raised in new French oak for 18 months): Inky purple. Heady aromas of candied dark berries, incense and licorice are complicated by vanilla, lavender and five-spice powder. Lush, deeply flavored and broad, offering deep black and blue fruit flavors and an exotic floral pastille nuance. Finishes smooth, spicy and extremely long, with resonating sweetness, a hint of licorice and even tannins.