El Marciano 2014

"The one Garnacha wine from Gredos proper is the 2014 El Marciano, sourced from a puzzle of small plots of old vines on granite soils in the village of Navarredondilla, in the province of Ávila; this is a higher altitude, cooler zone of the Gredos Mountains, at some 1,150 meters altitude on average. To preserve the character of the zone, he fermented the grapes in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and bottled the wine unoaked. The wine is ripe (15% alcohol), has moderate acidity (pH 3.77), and comes through as playing dangerously with overripeness, with aromas of dried plums and damp earth. The palate is medium to full-bodied, where it feels a lot more austere to what the palate hints, and with some volatility that somehow provides an unusual kind of freshness. The nose and palate are very disengaged, and it somehow feels older than it is. The wine is not easy to assess; it has a profile provided perhaps by the lack of sulfur. For fans of the style. 8,000 bottles were filled in February 2015".