LaLomba Finca Ladero 2016, Ramón Bilbao

Finca Ladero expresses an electrifying alliance of fabulously vivacious summer fruit with deeper, complex nuances of fennel seed, coffee, toast and liquorice. Its intensity combined with purity is reminiscent of a Burgundy top cru from a fine vintage. It is at once satisfyingly rich and fresh, and exquisitely well knit-together; yielding flavours of creamy toffee, woodsmoke, autumn leaves and a nostalgic hint of my grandfather’s pipe tobacco. A magnificent drink already, it gives the impression that it is only just starting to blossom, and will continue to improve over the next several years. A combination of 80% Tempranillo and 20% Garnacha, grown in a single vineyard, the ‘Grand Cru’ Finca Ladero, at 720m altitude in the Yerga mountains, in Rioja’s south-eastern corner.