Pico Ferreira 2015

"The one red, called 2015 Pico Ferreira, comes from a plot from the place that gives it its name in the village of Toral de los Vados. It's a northeast-facing slope at 700 meters altitude with 0.3 hectares of old, head-pruned vines on slate soils planted with mixed varieties (according to Márquez, it has an unusual number of varieties, more than in the majority of vineyards in Bierzo) that deliver very small bunches; he got 800 kilos of grapes. As with the rest of reds, the full clusters fermented in (four) open-top barrels and matured for 12 months in three 500-liter French oak barrels. It felt a little closed, and it needed time to open up. It's perhaps not as expressive as the Sufreiral, which almost jumped out of the glass, it's subtler and a little reticent. The palate revealed some dusty tannins, with the wider mouthfeel slate tends to provide. 650 bottles were filled in November 2016."