El Pecado 2018

The 2018 El Pecado is always produced with grapes from the very small Capeliños vineyard that belongs to Guímaro, just over half a hectare of very old vines—they don’t know exactly how old, but it must be about 100 years old. The vineyard is on a slope at some 350 to 400 meters above sea level and is planted with a Mencía field blend, as in the old times, they always included small percentages of other grapes. They destem a percentage of the grapes, which changes depending on the vintage, and the 2018 was approximately 60% destemmed and fermented in an open 3,000-liter oak vat with indigenous yeasts. It then matured in used 228-liter oak barrels. In 2018, it has a slightly lighter color and is a little more ethereal and elegant than other vintages, with less alcohol and terrific balance. This is perfumed and elegant, a little fuller than La Penitencia, with a very faint creamy touch, perhaps from being aged in the smaller barrels. It has to be one of the finest vintages of El Pecado. 1,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in February 2020. - Luis Gutiérrez.