Vall Llach Vi de finca Mas de la Rosa 2017

The powerful and balsamic 2017 Vall Llach Mas de la Rosa has some floral aromas intermixed with notes of wild berries and herbs, spicy and smoky but in a subtler way than in the earlier vintages. It is pure Cariñena from three hectares of vines planted in 1900 at 600 meters in altitude, and the élevage was exclusively in used 300-liter French oak barrels and lasted 14 months. It has a lot of varietal character with those lovely and elegant rustic notes of tree bark and earth, with some dusty tannins that would welcome powerful food and/or a couple more years in bottle. This is the finest Mas de la Rosa I remember.

Wonderful blueberry and graphitic aromas, then a gloriously sumptuous blueberry palate - so silky, so velvety, the tannin a melt throughout. The fruit is sweet but slatey terroir magically endows the long finish with chalky minerality. Holds its alcohol well.