Pagos de Viña Real 2018

Produced with grapes from their La Romera vineyard in the village of Labastida, the 2018 Pagos de Viña Real is pure Tempranillo. It’s from a plot of almost two hectares planted 40 years ago on clay and stony (boulder) soils at the foot of the Toloño Mountain, and they wanted the wine to reflect the expression of the place rather than the fruit. It fermented in small vats with indigenous yeasts followed by malolactic and aging with lees in 300-liter French oak barrels. This is also a completely different wine from the previous vintages, now only from a specific vineyard and with less oak than in the past. It still has some grainy tannins that need polishing. It’s full-bodied and has some rusticity that might require some time in bottle. Drink date: 2022-2032. Score – 94. (Luis Gutiérrez, robertparker.com, Oct. 30, 2020)