2010 La Poza de Ballesteros

The 2010 La Poza de Ballesteros is pure Tempranillo from a 3.6-hectare vineyard planted in 1960 in the village of Elvillar. The destemmed grapes ferment in open wooden vats and age for 14 months in French oak barrels. The fruit is ripe, leaning towards black cherries and very balsamic, more Mediterranean, thyme and rosemary with incense and aniseed with saturated tannins. It’s a big and ripe wine, but with the freshness of fennel and mint. This is a perfect vineyard for cooler years. 3,000 bottles produced. Drink 2014-2023. I tasted Artadi’s 2010s and 2011s, as they seem to be selling the new vintages very fast and they even sell part of their wines en primeur. 2010, 2011 and 2012 have been very dry years. I didn’t have the chance to taste any 2012s, but I look forward to doing so the next time around. 2011 seems to be more fruit forward, more primary, without the complexity and depth of the 2010s, which were very elegant and is a superb vintage for Artadi. There are differences in texture between the two years, 2010 being more gentle, rounder and silkier and 2011 a bit wilder with a touch of rusticity. When it comes to production methods, only Tempranillo is used (except for the white which is produced exclusively with Viura), they destemmed all the grapes, the press wine never makes it into the final blends, and they only use French oak barrels. Imported by Folio Fine Wine Partners, Napa, CA; tel. (707) 256-2700; www.foliowine.com