Grapes were harvested in September with excellent maturity. All of the fruit for this wine comes from estate grown vines and gravity drives all movements of must/wine to minimize hard tannins. Grapes are hand harvested, destemmed but not crushed, macerated for 10 days in temperature controlled tanks followed by aging in 70% French and 30% American oak barrels for 8 months. Bottled without filtration after a gentle egg-white fining.
90pts View from the Cellar– 2018 vintage
“The 2018 Arrocal Tinto from Bodegas Arrocal is composed entirely of tempranillo and only spends eight months in cask prior to racking and bottling. The 2018 is fourteen percent octane and delivers a fine nose of black cherries, cigar smoke, gentle spice tones, a nice touch of soil, a discreet framing of oak and a bit of lavender in the upper register. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied, focused and very nicely balanced, with a good core of fruit, lovely grip and a long, classy and moderately tannic finish. This is a young wine and not overly complex today, but it is quite drinkable already and more complexity is certain to come with some bottle age. In a region with generally pretty over-heated prices, this is a fine value. 2020-2040.”
88pts Wine & Spirits Magazine– 2018 vintage
“Open and yielding in its fruit, this has the crunch of crab apples and umeboshi plums. It’s the sour side of tempranillo, a wine for Japanese grilled duck or wagyu.”
