Viña Pomal Alto de la Caseta 2010

Wax-sealed, modern-looking and with a deep color, the 2010 Viña Pomal Alto de la Caseta has a fruit-driven, blackcurrant nose. It is, without a doubt, their approach to modern Rioja, pure Tempranillo from a head-pruned vineyard that gives the wine its name. The uncrushed grapes fermented in a combination of open vats and oak barrels followed by malo in French oak and 20 months aging in barriques. The wine has a clean, fruit-driven nose, with the oak very well integrated into the wine's aromas of blueberries and hints of flowers. The palate is medium to full-bodied, and it's there you notice the élevage, with some vanilla-like flavors and a somewhat dusty texture marked by abundant tannins and a dry end that should polish up with more time in bottle. In the meantime, you can enjoy it with red meat or a meat stew. Only 2,000 bottles were produced, which for a winery like that is minuscule.