El Puntido 2017 en Primeur (x6)

Most of the grapes that went into El Puntido in 2017 came from a second crop that budded after the severe April frosts. The result is a stylish red that's balanced by refreshing acidity. Focused and spicy, with perfumed new French oak, layers of blackberry and black cherry fruit and more approachable tannins than in some vintages. 2025-30

Similarly colored to the 2016, the 2017 El Puntido has a rocking nose of blackcurrants, plums, chocolate, lead pencil, and tobacco. It has plenty of oak showing, but it's integrated and certainly works well. It's going to marginally integrate with bottle age as well. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it has ample fruit, a juicy, lively spine of acidity, and a great finish. This pleasure-bent, sexy Rioja will benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age (it's delicious even today) and should evolve nicely for at least a decade, probably longer.