Contino Viña del Olivo 2018

The 2018 Viña del Olivo comes from a plot planted in 1980 that has different soils from the rest of the property, which is mostly alluvial. Here, the soils are composed of clay and limestone. It's 85% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo, which fermented in 1,000-liter French oak vats followed by 16 months in barrel and a further three months in oak vats. This is raw and young, but it's already been released because the wine sells like hot cakes. It's marked by the toasted barrels and has all the baby fat it needs to be rendered invisible with time in bottle. It has very good freshness and round and sophisticated tannins with purity of fruit and finesse. 13,640 bottles and some larger formats. It was bottled in April 2020.

The top wine from the Contino estate comes from a parcel surrounding a 700-year-old olive tree and was planted in 1980. Made from a mix of Tempranillo with 15% Graciano and Mazuelo, it's perfumed, herbal, succulent and rich, with a combination of intensity and underlying balance, appealingly framed by oak. Still young, but this has the focus and density to age well in bottle. 2025-35

So pure and vivid aromas with dark berries and flowers, as well as hints of black olives. Full-bodied with a compact and very fine-grained palate. So much intensity to the balance in this wine. Give it three or four years to come together, but a beauty already. Try after 2024.