Mazuelo de La Quinta Cruz 2019

Mazuelo has a deserved reputation as a grape with tannin and acidity - that's why it's used in blends - but in the right hands it can produce wonderful wines on its own. Miguel Merino Junior has taken this cuvée to new heights of complexity. Elegant, yet concentrated, it has the freshness of a north-east facing site, subtle wood, fleshy tannins and bramble and wild strawberry fruit. 2023-30

I tasted the 2019 Mazuelo de la Quinta Cruz, again an evolution of the style of the 2017, from the vineyards on stony soils in the Calvario zone, 1.4 hectares planted in 1986 where they get some 3,500 kilos. It's 13.5% alcohol, which is moderate but a full 1% higher than the 2018, the warmest and ripest for this wine for sure; it was a warm year with very low yields because of frost, and the grapes were picked in mid-October. Some 50% of the volume matured in concrete and the other half in 500-liter barrels. This is more Mediterranean, round and riper, with lovely Cariñena rusticity. 2,960 bottles were filled in March 2020.