Peña Caballera 2017

The single-vineyard red 2017 Peña Caballera comes from the highest-altitude vineyard in the village of San Martín de Valdeiglesias, a 1.5-hectare north-facing plot at 850 meters in altitude with very shallow soils (30 to 50 centimeters) that usually delivers the most austere and mineral wine from the project, floral rather than fruit-driven. The whole clusters fermented in a 3,300-liter oak vat with indigenous yeasts, and after pressing, the resulting wine matured in a 1,500-liter French oak foudre for 12 months. It's stony, chalky, herbal and balsamic in a profile that reminds me of the 2018 Marañones, and rightly so, because the vineyard is at the top of the paraje Marañones. But this is more austere and stony and less floral than Marañones, with a step or two up in minerality and length. It's still young, but the aromas are more developed, again making me think of a Mediterranean expression of herbs à la Rayas. This should continue improving in bottle, as it's still very austere, but an austerity I like very much. It doesn't show heat or alcohol—they have dealt with the conditions of 2017 brilliantly. Again, a triumph over the conditions of the year. 2,000 bottles were filled in June 2019.