2018 PONCE Manchuela PiNo

The objective for the single-vineyard 2018 Pino is to show a more serious and precise profile with aging potential. The soil for the one hectare of 40-year-old vines planted at 800 meters in altitude is rich in limestone, which helps to achieve more freshness. It fermented with 100% full clusters in 4,500-liter oak vats with indigenous yeasts and matured in used 600-liter French oak barrels for 11 months. But this is always a more powerful expression of Bobal, with darker color and darker fruit than the more ethereal La Estrecha, with some black olive aromas, more Rhône than Burgundy. There is more concentration too and more tannin. There is more rusticity and more the character people expect from Bobal, because La Estrecha and Ponce are unusually elegant and delicate. This showcases the intensity of Bobal on limestone soils; the word is intense. Surprisingly enough, this is their youngest vineyard and one of the first to be harvested, at around the same time as the grapes for Clos Lojen. 2,000 bottles were filled in August 2019.