Dos Dedos de Frente 2018

They believe their 10th release of this high-altitude, late-ripening Syrah is the most balanced to date. The 2018 Dos Dedos de Frente comes from two hectares in the village of Villarroya de la Sierra planted in 2000 with a selection from the Rhône on stony soils at 950 meters in altitude, and it also contains 5% Viognier. In previous vintages, they only used the Viognier skins, but in 2018 the grapes ripened at the same time, so they were able to ferment it with the whole berries. The grapes were handpicked the 12th of October and fermented after a six-day cold soak, then the wine matured for 12 months in 500- and 650-liter oak casks (he abandoned the 225-liter oak barrels when he started this cuvée in 2016, and there was a change in the wine when he started using larger barrels). This is showy and exuberant, more in the style of Guigal than Clape. It's expressive, open, spicy and smoky, with abundant, fine-grained and chalky tannins. It's juicy, full-bodied and manages to keep the freshness and tension. This is still extremely young, and it's going to need a couple of years in bottle to start expressing what it really is. It should age nicely, as it has the stuffing and balance to do so. 6,373 bottles were filled in November 2019.