2016 Seleccion Personal Rioja 94WA
Abel Mendoza
San Vicente, Rioja

$59.99

• 100% Tempranillo
• Fruit is sorted, destemmed (but not crushed) and fermented in stainless steel tanks.
• Aged in concrete tanks for malolactic fermentation and then into French oak barriques for 12 - 13 months, depending on tasting
• 70 year-old vines from a terraced vineyard

94 pts Luis Guttierrez Robert Park Wine Advocate
I also tasted the 2016 Selección Personal next to the 2015. 2016 was a higher-yielding year, and the wine might be a bit lighter and fresher even if the analytical data doesn't show significant differences. The wine matured in French barrique for 13 months. It has the 2016 profile, perhaps a little more reticent and shy. It's easy to drink, the alcohol is very integrated, and the wine comes through as elegant and balanced, with great freshness. This has to be one of the finest Selección Personal bottlings to date. 6,136 bottles were filled in May 2018.