Nebro 2015

I was also pleasantly surprised by the 2015 Nebro, a wine that in the past was not easy to understand with its ripeness, concentration and hefty dose of new oak. It comes from vines planted in 1920 that fermented in an open-top oak vat with indigenous yeasts and matured in second use Darnajou barrels for 18 months, a longer élevage than in previous years. I think it's quite a change from previous vintages, and even in a year like 2015, which was warm and dry, it managed to keep its poise; it felt young and lively, and even though there are plenty of grainy tannins, they seem gentler than before. I look forward to future vintages of this bottling... 1,099 bottles and 100 magnums were filled in July 2017.

Blackberry and black-olive character on the nose and palate. Full body. Dense and layered. Chewy tannins, yet they are natural and not wood-laced. Needs one or two years to soften. Better after 2020 and onwards.

One of the privileged neighbours of Vega Sicilia, with vineyards facing the Duero river, Finca Villacreces makes Nebro only in great vintages, looking more for understated elegance than power. This is amazingly young – one would think it was from a more recent vintage. Nice blackberry fruit with minty overtones; remarkable density and finishes slowly. In a very particular style, distinct from the wines of neighbouring producers