Les Alas de Frontonio La Tejera 2019

The 2019 Las Alas de Frontonio La Tejera was produced with a Garnacha-based field blend, as the 1.4-hectare 85-year-old vineyard where it comes from also has some Macabeo. It’s a plot on clay, slate and quartzite soils at 630 meters in altitude with a northwest orientation in the village of Alpartir. They used 100% full clusters for the native fermentation in open-top oak barrels, which allowed them to foot-tread the grapes. The wine matured for 14 months in small (550-liter) oak vats from Italy in a cold underground cellar 17 meters below ground. This has a spectacular nose, subtle and elegant and an improvement even over the great 2018. It’s vibrant and pungent, and the tannins are very fine, slightly chalky and give it a nice texture. There’s a salty twist on the finish. Drink date: 2022-2028. Score – 96. (Luis Gutiérrez, robertparker.com, Nov. 11, 2021)