La Poulosa, La Vizcaina de Vinos, Bierzo, 2018

La Poulosa is always a seductive little number, as notes of spearmint and black currant waft from the glass. Glossy black cherries and a certain sweet mossy-ness hits the palate. Silky, sweet and refined, black strawberries and plum stones emerge with aeration. Sweet, suave tannins and gently textured this is more open and immediately attractive versus the edgier, tighter La Vitoriana. An east facing, clay-dominant site planted at 550m in 1936. A blend of 4 plot totalling 1.7 hectares, the deeper, water-retaining soils means that La Poulosa is to our mind perhaps the most consistent in the La Vizcaina range - being smooth fruited, ripe and handsome, year-in year-out. A slightly higher proportion of Garnacha in the natural field blend here perhaps also helps to add an extra layer of refinement. Whole bunch fermented in large open-top wooden fermenters with no temperature control, kept on the skins for 30-45 days on average and aged for 12 months in used 500L casks and 225L barriques.