2013 Aalto

The 2013 Aalto is a lighter wine, with less color, more freshness as it should be in a cooler vintage. It has a bright color which also denotes high acidity. The year was not easy and they had to work more on the origin of grapes: it has less from La Horra and more from La Aguilera, a cooler village, both in the province of Burgos, because in La Horra they had more frost problems. It's aged in less than 30% new barrels and the oak feels better integrated, definitively less oaky than other vintages. The nose has a combination of red and black fruit, spicy aromas and a sense of freshness, with even some violets. The palate is medium to full-bodied, with very fine tannins, abundant but well padded by juicy fruit, good acidity and freshness. This is a lot more fluid and balanced, with better-integrated oak than in the past. This is a fresher Aalto that should age nicely in bottle. 175,000 bottles were filled in July 2015 after 18 months in barrel.

The fruit from each of 9 different villages is vinified separately for Aalto and kept separate for the first 12 months. Ageing is in 50% new oak, 50% 1- to 3-year-old barrels, of which 80% is French, 20% US. Ripe, dark and savoury, some notes of char. More elderberry than cassis. Very firm and dry but with some vanilla on the finish, which seems slightly at odds with the savoury overall impression. Plenty of oak spice but the savoury Ribera style still shows through. (JH)