La Orquesta SotoManrique 2014

"There is a new wine in 2014 -- a barrel-aged Verdejo from very old vines planted at 850 meters altitude on very sandy soils surrounded by pine trees, that goes by the name 2014 La Orquesta. Half of the wine fermented in used oak barrels with bâttonage where it was matured for ten months, while the other half was fermented in stainless steel and then kept in clay amphorae, for which they have developed a remontage system without contact with the air. I tasted a final blend before bottling, so it was not yet clarified. The nose has a combination of yellow fruit, flowers, hints of nuts, balsamic herbs, fennel and some hints of smoke; it is somehow austere with incipient elegance. They look for more length in the palate and a wine that can age longer in the bottle. The palate is very balanced, because as it has the same high acidity, it has more body and volume, and comes through as softer wine even though it has a somehow tannic structure -- possibly a textural sensation provided by the lees. This will be sold without the Rueda appellation, as a Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León. 20,000 bottles produced".