2016 El Rapolao
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Tasting notes
Glistening violet. An expansive, mineral-accented bouquet evokes fresh cherry, boysenberry and candied licorice, along with a suave floral overtone and building spiciness. Sappy and expansive on the palate, offering vibrant red and blue fruit, spicecake and violet pastille flavors that deepen through the midpalate. The impressively long, sweet, spice- and floral-driven finish is framed by fine-grained tannins that fold smoothly into the wine's energetic fruit.
Critic scores
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Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate
Josh Raynolds
More reviews and scores
The Michelini family showed me the seventh different wine from a cru in Valtuille that is the first named cru to be shared and released by multiple producers who named the origin on the label—in this case, the 2016 El Rapolao. It was of course Raúl Pérez who first showed wines from there, and other friends followed. The whole clusters fermented in clay amphorae (tinaja), where they macerated with the skins for five months. The wine matured in used barriques for 15 months. This is one of the cooler crus from the slopes of Valtuille within the climate of Valtuille, which is not exactly cold. What seems clear, having tasted a number of wines from the vineyard through the years and six from 2016, is that it is very regular, and year in, year out delivers more delicate wines about finesse and soil. But it also has beautiful aromatics reminiscent of flowers and acidic berries, wild herbs, spices and length, more Burgundy than Northern Rhône. This is beautiful. 1,200 bottles were filled in May 2018.