2011 Ribera del Duero Corimbo I

Bright purple. An expansive and exotically perfumed bouquet evokes ripe black and blue fruits, incense, vanilla and Indian spices, with a smoky mineral overtone. Sweet and penetrating on the palate, offering intense blackberry and boysenberry flavors that deepen and pick up spiciness as the wine opens up. Rich yet lithe, with outstanding closing thrust and velvety tannins lending shape. This wine was fermented in stainless steel tanks and wooden vats and then aged for 18 months in new French and American oak.

This time I did taste the top of the range, the 2011 Corimbo I, which is produced with the fruit from the older Tempranillo vines fermented in oak vats and matured for 14 months in French (80%) and American (20%) oak barrels, of which approximately half were new. After the time in barrique, the wine completes its élevage with a further six months in oak vats. You can feel the ripeness of the vintage as soon as you put your nose in the glass, especially when tasted next to the 2012 Corimbo; here the fruit is darker and the spices are different too, cloves perhaps, and something reminiscent of licorice and an earthy, mineral touch with hints of ink; a little more marked by the oak. This has larger bones, a wine fruit of a warm and dry vintage, not as dry as 2009 and not as wet as 2010, but something in between. There's more concentration, more power, and more tannins that are a little powdery and leave a slightly drying sensation. This is a powerful, ripe Ribera del Duero, faithful to the vintage that needs food and/or little more time. 40,000 bottles produced.