Cuvee N Vinas Viejas 2019

The 2018 was not produced, so from the 2017 they jumped to the 2019 Cuvée N, a wine they only want to produce in Mediterranean vintages (so far only 2015 and 2017). This 2019 comes from a slightly atypical vintage, marked by torrential rains during the harvest. It was produced with grapes from north-facing vines planted at the end of the 1970s on sandy limestone soils covered with gravels. It fermented fully destemmed in underground stone pools with indigenous yeasts and matured in used 500-liter oak barrels for 16 months. The 2019s in general are more varietal than the 2020s, and they have good ripeness, with notes of aromatic herbs and ripe fruit (without excess), a medium to full-bodied palate with some grainy tannin and a whiff of spiciness from the élevage. 3,400 bottles were filled in March 2021. There will be no 2020 either, but the wine should come back with the 2021 vintage. (LG, 4/22)