2010 Mauro, Bodegas Mauro, Castilla y León

Mariano García, the legendary winemaker of Vega Sicilia (from 1968 to 1998), started Mauro rather quietly in 1978 as a small side-line project – secretly making the wine in a garage on the Vega estate. He chose to buy and plant vineyards considerably further west than anyone else in Ribera del Duero and found that he was somewhat arbitrarily excluded from the 1982 Denominacíon Origen on geographical grounds. Thankfully, however, the wines’ reputation remained unscathed and Mariano’s estate is considered among the top ten in Ribera. Today, Mariano is ably assisted by his two sons Alberto and Eduardo and they make three wines from their high altitude vineyards, primarily planted with Tinto Fino. This local strain of Tempranillo has adapted over the centuries to suit the climate here, its smaller berries offering a deeper colour and more intense aroma and structure than is typical of Tempranillo from other regions.

The 2010 Cosecha is aged for 16 months in barrel using 20% new oak. It has a deliciously juicy bouquet of blueberry, cherry and blackcurrant, accompanied by perfumed, spiced notes of violet and pot-pourri. The palate is full and rounded with taut, grippy tannins and a fantastic freshness that lifts the wine, providing an elegant and striking backbone. The finish is floral and persistent with superb finesse. This is quite simply superb winemaking that displays all the hallmarks of a wine which will gradually soften and whose beautiful fruit will mellow into something that will be a treat to behold.