2021 - Rozas 1er Cru, Comando G

The 2021 Rozas 1er Cru is 100% Garnacha from a Vino de Paraje in Valle Sur, Sierra de Gredos. Fermented with whole clusters, it presents sour cherry, herbal tones, orange peel and a touch of cherry over a delicate profile. A hint of chocolate-orange emerges with air. Grippy yet delicate, it has a lightly aqueous feel and a touch of fruit, gaining depth and definition on the finish. This modern red avoids the region’s sun-driven style in favor of varietal expression.

The last vintage of the Rozas 1er Cru as it is now is the 2021, because the wine changes in 2022. The 2021 Rozas 1er Cru, a lieu-dit red from the village of Rozas de Puerto Real, is from the same plots as in previous years but cropped from a cool year. They used full clusters with long macerations, an infusion, and it aged in large oak foudres for one year. It's a serious, austere and cold vintage for this wine, which is narrow, mineral and sharp but with full development of flavors, as they picked the grapes at very good ripeness, and the wine finished with 14% alcohol. With time in the glass, it developed some Rhône-ish meaty notes. It has very fine and elegant tannins, rounder than those in warmer years. It feels superb. 14,761 bottles produced. It was bottled in February 2023.