2020 Tabuerniga Rioja Telmo Rodriguez

The superb, complex and elegant 2020 Tabuerniga comes from a challenging year, as the vineyard was hit with hail. It fermented in open-top 3,000-liter oak vats with indigenous yeasts and matured in 1,500-liter oak foudres for 14 to 16 months. The Tabuérniga terraces were the first to be harvested in 2020, from the sixth of October, and still the wine has a moderate 14% alcohol. It's elegant, expressive, clean, focused and balanced, combining power and elegance, with fine tannins and a long finish.

Tabuérniga occupies a series of east-facing terraces and an amphitheatre in Labastida, totalling 2.7 hectares. Tempranillo-led, with 40% Graciano, Garnacha and Mazuelo, it's one of the most delicate and ethereal wines in the Lanzaga range, with aromas of pine, rosemary and wet stones, plum, raspberry and pomegranate fruit and a long, satisfying finish.