October Premium Six Pack 2023 - Spanish Garnacha Extravaganza

100% Garnacha from a single 4-hectare vineyard at the foot of the Sierra de La Pila, just in front of the winery The age of the vineyard is 5 years old and it is 100% property with north orientation and fresh clay soil.

Crushed raspberry and wild bracken with a hint of charry earthy that provides a counterpoint to the fresh fruit. A lovely combo of sweet and savoury that follows on the palate with a playful back and fourth between the clean red fruits and wild cherry notes. Firm and snappy with a fine cut to the tannins.

A lovely garnacha with sweet blue fruit, fine spices and some flowers. Taut and juicy with tight but polished tannins. Lots of flavors, but not hefty. On the contrary, this is nimble and elegant. Drink or hold. JAMES SUCKLING

Ripe but still racy nose, full of strawberries, dark raspberries, wild cherries and baking spices. Medium-to full-bodied palate with copious red cherries and dark plums. Plenty of ripe but firm tannins provide a creamy but tight wrap. Drink or hold. JAMES SUCKLING

The eponymous red 2017 Marañones makes reference to a zone of the same name in the village of San Martín de Valdeiglesias that also names the project. It's pure Garnacha from three vineyards in the named "paraje" on north-facing slopes on granite at 750 to 850 meters in altitude. The full clusters fermented in 3,300-liter French oak foudres with natural yeasts after a cold soak, and the wine matured in 2,500- and 3,00-liter oak foudres for one year. It has a developed color and nose that is quite delicate and Mediterranean, in the style of a ripe vintage of Pignan, with citrus, floral and some balsamic/herbal notes as the wine warms up in the glass. It has the grainy and chalky tannins from the granite soils and is nicely balanced, with contained ripeness and a solid structure. It has the chalky saltiness that I find in many of the Marañones wines. These vineyards delivered good yields in 2017, and the amount of bunches and grapes compensated the warm conditions, resulting in contained ripeness. 7,400 bottles were filled in June 2019. LUIS GUTIERREZ, The Wine Advocate

Lots of fruit here with racy dark strawberries, pomegranate, raspberries, hibiscus and boysenberries infused with a hint of stones and herbs. Ripe and firm on the palate with very firm, fresh tannins and a nimble finish. Effortlessly drinkable now, but can hold, too. JAMES SUCKLING

This is a masterpiece of delicacy; open-hearted and lingering beautifully.
It smells of fennel, radish and quinine bark with a sweet-spice-squeak. Lean and lipstick-kissy, fine wild fennel sweetness repeats in the acid squeak at end. It has excellent ripeness in harmony with fine structure and incredible freshness, but is super-lean in glycerol terms, and wonderfully fresh. SCOTT WASLEY

It's beautiful and poised. With air the aromatics soar, the florals and bright blue fruits reach out from the glass beckoning.

It feels soft and glossy on the palate but through that there is a vein of rocky minerality and super filigreed tannins hold the wines shape and draw out the flavour. Slowly building and slowly finishing. It's long and there is so much woven through this gorgeous wine that I could taste and smell it all day long.  I believe it will age incredibly well on the pure harmony it displays now.
This is genuinely beautiful