Michelini i Mufatto El Rapolao

The 2019 El Rapolao feels very different from the Michelini i Mufatto range. It's a wine from a different soil and climate (on clay and a warmer climate), from the first grapes they pick—rounder, riper and, if you like, more "Bierzo." They do a shorter maceration, they press pretty quickly. This is the only wine that is 100% Mencía, as it's a younger vineyard from a local grower, planted 20-something years ago. The other wines are always a field blend with other grapes (even some whites), as it' all very old vines. It feels abundantly tannic and has 14% alcohol, while the rest of wines are 12.5%. It's still fresh, but in the context of its siblings it feels quite different. It fermented in tinaja with indigenous yeasts and matured in used barrels. Every year they get 1,000 kilos of grapes, so there's always some 900 bottles. This was bottled in November 2020.

An opulent vintage compared with the two previous. This has great tension held by firm acidity. The chalky tannins are very well managed over a rather black fruit expression. Deep, ethereal and beautiful in its essence. An exuberant year where the aromas of truffle manifest more than the fruit.