Dominio de Es

Fragrant notes of plump black cherries and new oak, tell-tale aromas of the region. Also notes of fresh herbs and herbal bitters. The palate is very dense and firm, tremendous tannins, powerful and astringent, muscular, strong ageing potential.

This wine is made from the oldest vineyards (100 years) of the Atauta Valley, at one thousand meters, an area Bertrand Sourdais worked in for years before returning to the Loire Valley. It is fair to say it’s where he found his purpose and energy to make wines of place. The farming is mostly natural, using the principles of biodynamic agriculture, and the blend is 96/4 tinto fino and albillo. The site is a mix of clay/limestone, sand/limestone, and limestone, and the result is excellent. Lively spicy black fruit is flecked with minerality and stony notes, but the overriding factor here is elegance. In 2017 the vintage was hit by frost, and as you might expect, lower production, but Soria was spared. Sourdais uses 10 percent whole bunch, and the remainder is destemmed before going through native fermentation in 1,500 to 3,000 litre open wood vats. It’s aged for 20 months in Bourgogne barrels, 55 percent in new French oak. Seek this one out.