Mas La Plana 2018

Complex, fine nose with some cigars, tobacco, cedar wood, chili chocolate and olives alongside blackberries and finely roasted spices. Some cocoa powder savoriness, too. Palate is juicy, savory and precise with a medium to full body, showing silky and refined tannins with tension and resolve. Beautiful length with finesse, restraint and elegance here. Drink or hold.

The 100% Cabernet Sauvignon 2018 Mas La Plana was produced from a cool and late harvest of the vines planted between 1964 and 1979 in the Mas La Plana estate in Penedès at 225 meters in altitude on gravel, sand and clay soils. It fermented in 10,000-liter oak foudres with indigenous yeasts and matured in French oak barrels, 55% of them new, 20% in foudre and 25% in stainless steel for nine to 15 months, depending on the plot. This is very peppery and spicy, cool and varietal with a Mediterranean accent. This is the vineyard where they started with regenerative agriculture. It’s minty and has fine-grained tannins, spicy, herbal and fresh, reflecting a cooler year with more rain. In 2016, they introduced oak vats for the fermentation. They are also going for larger volumes for élevage and some wine kept in stainless steel. The best vintages at Mas la Plana are always the cooler years. 76,439 bottles, 1,643 magnums and some larger formats were produced. It was bottled in October 2020.