Contino Garnacha 2017

They have skipped the 2016 vintage, so I tasted the 2017 Garnacha. It fermented in an oak vat with 10% full clusters and with indigenous yeasts and matured in 400- and 500-liter oak barrels for 14 months. They want to get a floral and fresh wine, so they harvested the grapes quite early, on September 14, from three plots planted in 1940, 1950 and 1980. This is very different from the previous vintages—really floral, nuanced, aromatic and expressive with hints of aromatic herbs. I think this is a great place for Garnacha in Rioja Alta and Alavesa, a warmer place where the grape can ripen properly while keeping the freshness and typicity. They harvested the grapes quite early, and the wine is bright and fresh, and it doesn't sound like a warm vintage at all. Malic was quite low, and the wine didn't go through malolactic fermentation, which has certainly added to the freshness of the wine. This is probably the wine where I see more stylistic differences between the previous vintage and this one. 4,867 bottles were filled in January 2019.