2009 - Paganos Nieta, Rioja

The 2009 La Nieta is a 4,000-bottle cuvee of pure Tempranillo sourced from a single vineyard in Paganos (Laguardia). The singularity of this 1.75 hectare plot of vineyards is that the bedrock is almost on the surface, with 18% active chalk in it. In other words, it’s a very poor soil where the vines struggle to survive and produce small bunches of concentrated grapes, especially the vines that are planted directly on the rock. That’s why they select it grape by grape. The grapes are fermented in stainless steel with pumping-over and the wine transferred to new French oak barrels where malolactic fermentation is carried out and the wine ages for 18 months. It has a very fresh nose of small berries with a lactic, spicy note starting to develop complexity. The medium-bodied palate has fine tannins, very good acidity with plenty of stuffing in a serious wine with great balance and length. With time and air it develops a subtle balsamic note of aromatic herbs. It’s a great elegant, subtle Rioja. Drink 2014-2028. 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

(100% tempranillo): Opaque purple. A hypnotic bouquet evokes blackberry, blueberry, Indian spices and incense, with a smoky note in the background. Smooth, palate-coating black and blue fruit flavors show superb energy and clarity. As rich as this is, it's also balanced and focused; the finish is sweet, sappy and extremely long. I find this pretty irresistible right now.