Aalto 2014: A modern triumph
15 December 2016

The second in our Throwback Thursday offers, Aalto is one of our favourite hidden gems from Spain and their 2014 is utterly sensational.

For those unfamiliar, the project is the brainchild of Javier Zaccagnini and Mariano Garcia, ex-director of the Consejo Regulador and wine-maker at Vega Sicilia for over 30 years respectively, and combines great technical knowhow and precision winemaking with some of the best old vine plots in the region. More than 200 plots go into Aalto, none greater than a hectare. Vine ages range from 40 to more than 100 years old and all of the great Ribera villages feature, including the likes of La Hora, Roa, La Aguilera, Moradillo and Fresnillo. The huge variety of fine Tinto Fino (Tempranillo) clones on offer, combined with the age of the vines, allows Javier and Mariano to create complex, world class wines on a par with the region’s very best.

There is no doubt about it, Aalto 2014 is a modern triumph and will reward those with a bit of patience; worthy of a place in any serious Collector’s Cellar, we recommend lying this down for a few years before drinking.

“This is a barrel sample but pretty much the final wine. Deep purplish crimson. Ripe, spicy blackberries, marked both by the primary fruit and the French oak spice. Thick and chewy, rich yet fresh. Powerful, firm but polite and generous at the same time. Supple, rich and gloriously mouth-filling, the alcohol well hidden but the fruit superb.” 17 points, Julia Harding MW