San Cucufate Bancales del Jalón 2018

One of the three vineyard-designated reds is the 2018 San Cucufate Bancales de Jalón, produced with Tempranillo planted on terraces from 2010 on shallow soils that produce powerful, tannic and somewhat rustic wines. They used 30% to 35% of the stems for the fermentation in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and malolactic in barrel. The aging is long but in neutral and well-seasoned containers, the first 10 months in barrel and the following eight in large oak vats. It has 14% alcohol and a pH of 3.75. The wine shows quite evolved in the color and nose, and the palate reveals polished tannins and an oxidative profile, evolved and a little earthy and with dusty rusticity. It feels older than it is, and it also gives a sensation of high ripeness. A second bottle felt livelier and less evolved, and it revealed quite a lot of tannin. 886 bottles and 80 magnums produced. It was bottled in March 2021.