2018 Cirsion

The 2018 Cirsion also feels a bit young, and it is also quite ripe with 14.5% alcohol, reminiscent of the modern wines from the turn of the century, powerful, ripe and generously oaked. There is a different granularity here: the tannins are a little coarser; there is a bit of an edge, and it's not as polished; it's a little wilder. I think this is going to age well. They managed to produce 10,200 bottles. It was bottled in March 2020 after only eight months in barrel.

A perfumed nose of blackberries, blueberries, cumin, porcini, olives and dried herbs. It’s full-bodied with fine, creamy tannins. Layered. Such complexity, with savory, mineral character. Focused and long. Better in a year or two, when the vanilla character melts into the wine. Try after 2022.

See the background to Cirsion in this article about a vertical tasting of it. Naughty heavy bottle. Deep crimson. Heady, ripe black-fruit nose. Very thick and youthful with some alcoholic heat on the end plus a little tarry note leading to a hint of sourness. I wonder whether this would taste better if aerated. Let me put it in my young-wine decanter … nope, not much change. This just seems much too young to me – and perhaps just a little too 1990s? What a contrast to the more traditional, long oak-aged riojas that are released when they are ready to drink. (JR)