Having the 2019 to taste next to the 2020 Finca Villacreces reveals how the quality of the 2020 tannins are more elegant, and the wine comes through as finer-boned and fresher too, with power, concentration and structure. It was produced with 90% Tempranillo, 8% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Merlot and has 14.1% alcohol and very good freshness. It fermented in raw concrete vats and 10,000-liter oak vats and matured in 225- and 500-liter French oak barrels, with a few more months in foudre and oak vat to complete 15 months, which seem to have given a sleeker and more polished wine with a gentler mouthfeel. 40,500 bottles and 525 magnums produced. It was bottled in May 2022.

I retasted the 2019 Finca Villacreces again next to the 2020, which gave me a good perspective of the evolution of the wine (slow) and the character of the vintage (warm, dry and powerful, with abundant tannins) and showed the different quality of tannins in the younger wine. It's a blend of 93% Tempranillo and 7% Cabernet Sauvignon—lower in Cabernet and without Merlot—and it matured for 12 months in 225- and 500-liter oak barrels, 50% of them new. 2019 was a riper year, and the wine shows it, even if the grapes were picked early. It's juicy and round, with a soft mouthfeel and glossy tannins. 67,923 bottles and 525 magnums produced. It was bottled in May 2021.

The 2018 Finca Villacreces is a blend of 87% Tempranillo, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Merlot that matured for 15 months in 225- and 500-liter oak barrels, 50% of them new. It's from a cooler year, and the wine has lower alcohol and more freshness but feels quite tannic. It's powerful and concentrated, with marked oak flavors on the finish. This is fresher but oakier than I like. 58,080 bottles and 555 magnums produced. It was bottled in July 2020.

I also tasted the 2017 Finca Villacreces from a very challenging year that they consider very good for their vineyards despite the loss of 50% of the crop. It's a blend of Tempranillo with 8% Cabernet Sauvignon and 2% Merlot that matured in French oak barrels (50% of them new) for 14 months. I was pleasantly surprised by this wine, given the extremely challenging conditions of the year; and it didn't only show well on its own, it showed better than the 2016 that I tasted next to it! It's perhaps a lighter year, but the fruit is in the foreground; it's clean and there is no excess ripeness, and the oak felt quite integrated. It's nicely textured and sapid, almost salty. 60,128 bottles and 502 magnums were filled in June 2019.

The 2016 Finca Villacreces was produced to showcase the essence of the estate, mixing grapes from different soils fermented and aged separately and then blended into a combination of 88% Tempranillo, 9% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Merlot that fermented in concrete and oak vats and matured in 225- and 500-liter French oak barrels for 15 months. I was expecting more freshness here, but I found ripe black fruit and something earthy/organic reminiscent of peat and coal, plenty of fine-grained tannins and ripe and earthy flavors. It's still quite oaky. Surprisingly enough, the 2017 showed better... 71,242 bottles and 535 magnums produced. It was bottled in July 2018.