2004 Pintas

The 2004 Pintas is this winery’s flagship wine, and a step up on the 2003. It was raised in 80% new French oak, and is a field blend from a single vineyard. There is big fruit flavor here that bursts from the bottle, but the structure is impressive as well, and the mid-palate is quite elegant and graceful. The tannins are refined, but impart ample intensity and give the mid-palate the support it needs. This wine should age gracefully and develop more character in the cellar. The finish lingers, the nose is lovely, and the balance is impeccable. This wine does not impress with its depth, but rather its finesse, which was the winemaker’s goal. It seemed too light initially, and I feared that there was, shall we say, a little too much finesse. That said, I was gratified to see it expand in the glass, take on some weight, and flesh out with aeration. It was in fact rather closed for a couple of hours, and did not really strut its stuff for several hours. The nose is pungent and appealing. I will be interested to see if this primary young wine becomes more complex over the years with cellaring. It showed relatively little complexity while I had it, but on the plus side of the ledger, it held beautifully on Day 2, which leads me to lean a bit upwards. There were approximately 458 cases made, plus a small number of large format bottles. Drink 2008-2019. Importer: Eric Solomon, Charlotte, NC; tel. (704) 358-1565