Cartago 2016

The 2016 Cartago Paraje del Pozo coms from a 45-year-old vineyard of Tempranillo or Tinta de Toro with some 10% of other varieties and matured in barrel for 30 months. This is a long-distance runner, a wine designed for the long haul, serious and with great balance. It's one of the finest vintages of Cartago since the initial 2012. It's ripe, powerful and concentrated, with lots of tannins and a touch of iron and blood. It's a classical old style Duero that should repay time in bottle. In this high-yielding year, the wine feels more fluid and fresher. Despite all that, the wine is quite tight but has good depth. Like many of the wines I tasted this time, this is the finest vintage to date, rounder and deeper. All of these wines have a very marked style. 4,916 bottles were filled in June 2019.