2019 Picaro del Aguila Clarete

País, Bobal, Garnacha, Tempranillo. A most unusual Ribera that’s in a clear burgundy bottle and is the colour of raspberry juice. Chock-full of fruit (of a most unusual blend of grapes). Such a lot of fruit! Utterly befuddling for any blind-taster. Very well found! Great balance. Could be very versatile at the table with its light chew on the end. (JR)

I also tasted the 2019 Pícaro del Águila Clarete, a wine produced with a blend of red and white grapes as if it was a red, aging it in French oak barrels for 15 months. 2019 was a warmer and riper year in the region, and the wine is powerful but has kept very good freshness, which means a pH of 3.16. This is a rounder vintage sustained by very good acidity, in a way more like a cooler year like 2016. This is young and tender and doesn't yet have the depth they gain with further time in bottle. There is more white here (like in 2015 and 2016), and the wine is a little paler, which also helps with the freshness. The wine feels quite subtle and elegant and more in line with the 2016, which was a warmer year. It's tasty and balanced, with a chalky sensation and a very fresh finish. This is a real jewel and, in fact, one of the best vintages for clarete. But these wines are never about ephemeral fruit aromas and flavors. There is depth and complexity here. It should pay back if you can refrain for pulling the cork now... 7,785 bottles and 179 magnums were filled in January 2021.