Contino Viña del Olivo 2019

Medium-to full-bodied, creamy and ripe with silky tannins. Lovely, savory character with herbs, smoked meat, salted olives and cherries. Orange peel, too. Very approachable with a long, supple finish. 67% tempranillo, 23% graciano and 10% mazuelo. From the oldest vineyard of Contino. Drink after 2023.

I sense that there is a change in direction in the 2019 Viña del Olivo in search of freshness and elegance form the limestone-rich soils. In a warm year like 2019, the wine was produced with the blend of 67% Tempranillo, 23% Graciano and 10% Mazuelo; it's higher in Mazuelo, which gives it freshness and shows in the wine, which is "only" 13.71% alcohol, harvested early like the majority of 2019s and keeping a pH of 5.56. The wine is quite flattering and has contained ripeness, good freshness and balance but ultimately lacks the complexity and depth of the 2020 that I tasted next to it. It matured in barrel for 12 months and in oak vat for a further four months. 9,773 bottles and 500 magnums were filled in June 2021.

Fresh coffee bean and berry fruit nose; the palate is poised with tightly-knit, ripe tannins. It's incredibly pure and intense throughout with a persistent finish.