Bodega Abel Mendoza Monge Grano a Grano Tempranillo, Rioja DOCa, Spain

阿貝爾門多薩酒莊格拉諾添普蘭尼諾紅葡萄酒

點擊次數(shù)：923

I'm amazed at the aromatics of the 2018 Tempranillo Grano A Grano, with notes of orange peel and flowers, incredibly aromatic and nuanced for a Tempranillo. The grapes were hand-destemmed in order to avoid the effect of a destemmer that might rip the grapes open and to keep them intact to make them go through a semi-carbonic maceration that generates a lot of aromas. As with the other wines, he is using more and more 500-liter oak barrels, and the oaking is subtler and the élevage 18 months. It has a vibrant palate, and the wine is very lively, with freshness and pungent flavors. 2,621 bottles were filled in May 2020.

The nose of the 2017 Tempranillo Grano A Grano shows more nuance and especially more floral aromas than the Selección Especial from this same vintage, which is also Tempranillo. "Grano a grano" means "grain by grain" in Spanish, as the grapes for this range are hand-destemmed to avoid the effect of a destemmer that might rip open the grapes. So, the perfect grapes go through a semi-carbonic maceration that extracts a different range of aromas, and I found some common aromas with the Jarrarte Maceración Carbónica here. 2027 was a very challenging year, and the wine shows the effect of the élevage in 500-liter oak barrels that lasted 18 months. 2,375 bottles were filled in May 2019.

As with many other wines, this time I could compare the 2016 Tempranillo Grano A Grano with the one from 2015 and see the differences in the two vintages. Analytically, the wines are quite similar, but the profile is not the same. There is less influence from the oak, as the barrels are larger and used (not new). This is like a more intense version of the Selección Personal, with the imprint of the 2016 vintage, floral aromas, a clean nose with complexity and elegance, showing very young but nuanced. They are forced to select looser bunches to be able to destem the grapes by hand, and the grapes are more perfect, less compact and perhaps with a higher ratio of skin to juice. This explains the intensity of the Grano a Grano wines. The palate is balanced, with very good freshness and refined tannins. I think Abel has produced some of his best wines in 2016, and this has to be one of them. 2,040 bottles were filled in May 2018.

The 2015 Tempranillo Grano A Grano was selected from vineyards over 50 years of age in the villages of Labastida and San Vicente de la Sonsierra. The key in 2015 was the date of harvest, as it rained during the period. The bunches were hand-destemmed, and the uncrushed grapes fermented in 1,200-liter stainless steel vats and matured in 500-liter French oak barrels for 18 months including malolactic. It feels very open and expressive, as it has hit a sweet spot, and the nose is an explosion of flowers, wild berries and herbs. It has a really pretty nose. I think he really got the harvest date spot on for this one. This might be a different style from the 2016, but the quality level is very similar. A great 2015... Only 1,664 bottles were filled in May 2017.

All that I found missing in the Selección Personal was present in the 2014 Tempranillo Grano A Grano, an exuberant, floral, spicy and perfumed nose that jumped out of the glass and defied the shortcomings of the harvest. It's modern, young, showy and unashamed, a hedonistic Tempranillo with nice integration of the oak despite having been aged in brand new French barriques for 18 months. But there's enough fruit, concentration, freshness and stuffing to take that élevage. The grapes were sourced from two plots in San Vicente de la Sonsierra and Labastida, El Bardallo and Santa Lucía, from 0.58 hectares of old vines (over 50 years of age) that yielded 3,900 kilograms per hectare. The bunches were destemmed by hand and the grapes fermented in 1,200-kilogram stainless steel vats, followed by malolactic in barrique and élevage in 500-liter oak barrels. Maybe the larger size of the barrels is partly responsible for the expressive nose and nice integration of the oak? 1,105 bottles were filled in May 2016.