El Rapolao, La Vizcaina de Vinos, Bierzo, 2017
A mark of Raul’s influence, El Rapolao is now the most labelled single vineyard wine in Bierzo (admittedly, three are his). Typically, El Rapolao is celebrated for its ripe complexity of fruit and depth, always allied to freshness. The La Vizcaina bottling coming from two plots on red soils; one mid-slope and one in the lower part, together averaging 550m of elevation. The older parcel in the mid-slope was planted in the 1920s on hard clay and stony soils and the younger, lower plot in the 1980s on clay with more organic material. Whole bunch fermented in wood and kept on the skins for 30-45 days before 12 months ageing in foudré and neutral 500L barrels.
critic reviews
Shimmering ruby. Ripe, spice-tinged blackberry, cherry cola, licorice and pungent floral qualities on the deeply perfumed nose. Densely packed red and dark berry liqueur and violet pastille flavors are lifted and sharpened by a jolt of smoky minerality, and a licorice note emerges with aeration. Concentrated as well as energetic in style, finishing with superb persistence, building tannins and lingering spice and floral notes.
I was impressed by the 2017 La Vizcaina El Rapolao, but the warm vintage was very good for a warmer vineyard like El Rapolao. This is hands-down my favorite of the 2017s from La Vizcaina, the wine that shows more freshness. It's harmonious and perhaps was harvested a little earlier than the others. Like the other wines from the range, this 2017 has more color than the 2018, as well as more power and a little more concentration, and it's also denser than the 2018, with tannins that are grittier and a little drier. But if I didn't have the 2018 next to this, I would only be praising it, because the 2017 is truly impressive, all in place and simply one step up in power and all the rest to keep the balance. 10,000 bottles were filled in May 2019. This is a late-budding vineyard, and it didn't suffer the effect of the spring hail from the year.