La Nieta 2021

La Nieta is consistently among the best red wines in Rioja, especially in a stellar vintage such as 2021. Made with Tempranillo grapes from a 1.78-hectare vineyard on very poor soils at 575 metres, it expresses what Marcos Eguren calls the "purity and minerality" of the site. Perfumed and refined, with stylish cigar box oak, plenty of acidity and zip, cassis, clementine and blueberry fruit and the tannic structure to age gracefully in bottle. 2027-40

The 2021 La Nieta is among the finest wines in its powerful, ripe and generously oaked, modern style of red Rioja. It's a single-vineyard Tempranillo with 14.05% alcohol, a pH of 3.63 and 5.8 grams of acidity. It comes from the 1.75-hectare vineyard that named the wine. It was planted in 1975 on silt, clay and sandstone soils in Páganos (Laguardia) at 525 meters above sea level and worked biodynamically (but not certified). The hand-destemmed grapes fermented in small 2,000-liter oak vats with yeasts selected from their vineyards and matured in new French oak barrels for 15 months. It felt very balanced, a little shy and undeveloped, elegant and fresh in this slightly cooler year. The grapes ripened slowly and had a full development of aromas and flavors, making the wine more nuanced and complex, while the palate kept very good balance with its freshness. The tannins are very complete and elegant. It opened up with time in the glass to more floral aromas, making it the most perfumed of the wines from the Eguren family that I tasted this time. 5,000 bottles were filled in July 2023. - Luis Gutiérrez.