Quincha Corral 2016

The red Bobal 2016 Quincha Corral is the expression of a plot planted in 1945, the oldest vineyard in their El Terrerazo property, where the soils have a limestone crust that allows the roots to dig deep into the soil and provide the wine with a differentiated personality. 2016 was a year with little rain, a cold summer and mild temperatures in the spring and summer that resulted in lower yields of healthy grapes with great acidity. The hand-harvested grapes were destemmed and lightly crushed to be fermented with indigenous yeasts in open-top 225-liter oak barrels and a 3,500-liter oak vat. The wine matured in a combination of used 225- and 500-liter French oak barrels and that 3,500-liter oak vat for 18 months. This still goes in the direction of 2016 Finca Terrerazo, better work in the vineyard but still the traditional vinification and aging that delivered a tight and powerful wine with grainy tannins and notable acidity. No 2015 of this wine was produced. And seeing how good the 2017 Finca Terrerazo is, I'm really looking forward to the next vintage of this wine, which will be the 2019! This plot has had very bad luck with the weather and tends to be hit by whatever issue they have, hail in 2015, frost in 2017 and lots of rain that resulted in botrytis in 2018. 6,400 bottles were filled in July 2018. - Luis Gutiérrez.