The long-distance runner 2018 Sot Lefriec is now released earlier than in the past, but the wine still needs some time in bottle to show its true colors. Each year they try to produce the best wine possible from their vineyard in Lavern, and as such, the blend changes. In the cooler 2018 vintage, the wine is a blend of 50% Cari?ena, 35% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon with 13.8% alcohol, a pH of 3.4 and 6.3 grams of acidity. It matured in French oak barrels, 40% of them new, for 23 months. It's a serious (think Bordeaux rather than Burgundy), structured and powerful red with sweet spices, smoke and traces of oak that are intermixed with floral notes, aromatic herbs and wild berries. It has a lively palate with sharp tannins and very good acidity, coming through as fresh and citrusy. It should age nicely in bottle. This is one of the finest Sot Lefriecs of recent years. 1,300 bottles and 20 magnums were filled in February 2021.

The 2014 Sot Lefriec feels extremely young and undeveloped, a compact and serious vintage that's full of energy and has an expressive nose. 2014 was a cooler year with some rain, and it's more in the style of 2010 than 2012; the blend also changed to 40% each Cari?ena and Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. It has a classical profile, good ripeness without excess, spicy oak and black fruit aromas and a powerful palate with abundant tannins in need of some time in bottle and/or powerful food. It has pungent flavors and a serious, dry finish. This has the components and the balance to develop in bottle for a long time. It's a very good, classical vintage for Sot Lefriec. 1,800 bottles produced. It was bottled in October 2017.

The 2013 Sot Lefriec is a blend of 50% Merlot, 30% Cari?ena and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon that fermented separately and matured in oak barrels separately for some 24 months. It was then blended and kept in stainless steel tank and racked every three or four months to stabilize the wine so it could be bottled without clarification or filtration. 2013 was a very wet year, with cooler temperatures than the average. There were rains in September, and they discarded the grapes that were picked after the rain. This is a slightly lighter and more fragile vintage, with a delicate texture, fine-grained tannins and a sensation of classicism and elegance—a more elegant version of Sot Lefriec, less rustic than 2012. 1,500 bottles were filled in late 2016. It's polished and approachable, but experience tells me this wines go a long way in bottle. I tasted the 2004 next to this (and next to the 2014), and the wine was singing...

Once again, I tasted the 2012 Sot Lefriec that I had tasted in a previous round of the region, now with some more time in bottle. It's a blend of 50% Merlot, 30% Cari?ena and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine has not moved much, as this cuvée tends to age at a very slow pace. If the 2010 was still young, this 2012 feels almost like a barrel sample—dark, opaque, concentrated, broody, powerful and extremely serious. The palate is still quite tannic but shows very good balance. You'd be surprised, because Sot Lefriec is always around 13.5% alcohol, yet it shows very powerful and concentrated, with good ripeness. This is cut in a classical style and requires a decade after the vintage to become approachable. Still a baby. 1,500 bottles were filled in May 2015.

I'm not really sure which vintages are currently in the market for their top red, and I have yet to taste 2009 and 2011, but they sent me a sample of the 2010 Sot Lefriec, produced with the best plots (based on a soil study) of their vineyards in Lavern. All vineyard work is dictated by the cycle of the moon, and all work is manual. They want freedom to change the blend or aging depending on the vintage. In 2010, it was 45% Cari?ena, 40% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Sauvignon produced in a powerful but fresh way. The grapes are harvested by hand and are put in the fermentation vats less than one hour after being picked to avoid oxidation. In fact, the whole process is kept very reductive, without contact with air. The destemmed grapes underwent a ten-day cold soak, then they fermented at 25 degrees Celsius for two to three weeks and were moved to barrique for malolactic. They used 50% new French barrels, where the wine aged for 26 months. If the entry-level reds feel powerful and concentrated, imagine what happens with the grand vin. It's super serious and ages at a glacial pace. You can sense a superb vintage here, as there is great balance and a backbone of acidity that is going to sustain it in bottle for a few decades. It reminded me of the Cabernets from Dunn, wines that require decades in bottle. It's not a style that's in fashion today, but if there is a serious and classical, powerful and concentrated red in very much a Bordeaux style, this is it. Have it with powerful food or lay it down for as long as you might want. It should make old bones. This could very well be the finest vintage produced at the estate. 1,300 bottles and 20 magnums produced. It was bottled in February 2013.