2010 Pegaso-Pizarra Castilla y Leon Telmo Rodriguez

The 2010 Pegaso Barrancos de Pizarra is produced with Garnacha from old, head-pruned vineyards in the village of Cebreros, province of Ávila, one of the few places in the Gredos mountain range where some soils are slate- based; the majority of Gredos is composed of granite found at different levels of decomposition, often in the shape of sand. The wine feels very young, and when uncorked it has a lactic note that denotes youth. The fruit is a mixture of red and black berries with some aromatic, balsamic herbs and a mineral hint. The palate is medium-bodied, fleshy and framed by round, fine-grained tannins. There's a little bit of a bitter taste toward the end. This needs a little bit more time than the granite bottling as the wine is fuller and you feel the effect of the oak a little more. For comparison I also tasted the 2004 vintage, which felt riper, more concentrated and more obviously oaked (it was a different time then) as it still shows notes of smoke and spices. Still, it's youthful and showing very few signs of evolution, which should give an idea about how the more balanced, current vintages might age. The wine keeps changing in the glass and at times I preferred the nose to the granite bottling, Though the palate remains a bit harsh, in the long run this will be the better wine. It showed better on day two. 11,154 bottles and 142 magnums were produced. Super!