Cillar de Silos Crianza 2018

The terrible frosts of the spring of 2017 meant they could not produce the Crianza from that year (and the 2016 is sold out), so I could only sample an unbottled 2018 Crianza, something I'm always reluctant to do because you never know how the sample is going to be when you receive it. Anyway, 2018 produced fresh and somewhat herbal wines that are easy to drink, and this sample seemed sound; it felt quite resistant to oxidation, robust and nicely built, with a character of orange peel that made me think of the Ribera wines from the early 1990s. It's elegant and balanced, with neatly integrated oak. Very promising... This should age 13 months in French oak barrels and will deliver 130,000+ bottles.