Cuevas de Arom Tuca Negra

The top-of-the-range 2017 Tuca Negra was produced with Garnacha from a very stony vineyard with limestone-rich soils. It fermented with indigenous yeasts and 50% full clusters that were foot trodden and matured in 456-liter oak barrels for one year. This is quite different from the others, because of the vintage (the others were 2018), one extra year in bottle, a little more ripeness and the barrels were one year younger than in 2018 and lent more aroma and flavors to the wines. It's spicy and smoky, quite showy, with some grainy tannins. It should improve with more time in bottle, and I'm sure the newer vintages (when the barrels are more neutral) are going to be better. 1,585 bottles were filled in November 2019.

Tasted blind. This is Fernando’s riper cuvée: a sweet and jammy character of concentrated prunes, plums and dark cherries. Delicious rounded fruit expression and mouth-coating texture with ripe tannins holding the alcohol content tightly. The back palate is long and deeply fruity, displaying a touch of kirsch. It is still youthful and needs more time to fully express itself.