The 2019 Dalmau Reserva was produced with a blend of 86% Tempranillo, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Graciano from Pago Canajas within the property, nine hectares planted in 1945 on red stony soils where they seek low yields to achieve concentration. It's a powerful red with 14.5% alcohol where all the varieties fermented destemmed separately in 13,900-liter oak vats with pumping over and délestage. It matured in French oak barrels for 20 months. There is a big change in this wine that increases its freshness and elegance, and they skipped the 2018 because they were not fully convinced and jumped to this 2019, the first one from the new era, produced in the new winery and fermented in oak vats. The big change is driven by the search for freshness and elegance and the effect of the new fermentation chamber and the fermentation oak vats. This could very well be the finest Dalmau ever produced, with the style of the new era of Marqués de Murrieta. It's a wine with a new and stronger personality that goes beyond the varieties used, so that they feel very integrated and complementing each other. Refined, super elegant and fine tannins frame the palate of this exceptional wine. 15,526 bottles produced. It was bottled in December 2021. They skipped the 2018 vintage of this, and the 2019 will be released in January 2023.

It might not be my favorite style, and the vintage might not be the best ever, but the 2017 Dalmau Reserva is a serious and age-worthy red. It was produced with 80% Tempranillo and 10% each Graciano and Cabernet Sauvignon from the Pago Canalejas within the Ygay Estate, nine hectares planted back in 1945 at 465 meters in altitude. Each variety, harvested at different times in the second half of September, fermented separately after being destemmed and lightly crushed for 11 days at a controlled temperature, the Tempranillo in stainless steel and the Graciano and the Cabernet Sauvignon in small French oak vats. It matured in French oak barrels for 19 months. What I tasted was not yet bottled, but it was in concrete waiting for the 2020 harvest to finish to be bottled. The samples I tasted have a lot more Graciano, and they are taking more risk, going for more concentration, body and structure, trying to keep the elegance. It's dark and it's very powerful, very spicy but not really dominated by the Cabernet (other vintages have had a lot more Cabernet), and I see more of the Graciano in the blend than the Cabernet; it has the power. It has marked tannins and feels hard and still too young and undeveloped, and I think it will take even longer to be ready than previous vintages. This feels very powerful, so I would wait a few years for it. It will be bottled at 14.5% alcohol. Some 17,000 bottled produced.

Exceptionally, I also tasted an unbottled sample of the 2016 Dalmau Reserva, which will be launched in January 2019, as they want to show the public the change in the 2016 vintage. 2016 saw a very good growing season, and the harvest was in late September. It feels like a very young Bordeaux blend, elegant and powerful. And as I saw in the other 2016 I sampled (the Reserva), this has gained in precision (it fermented at 24 degrees Celsius, quite cold for a red), avoiding too much extraction, and that seems noticeable in the texture and the quality of the tannins, sleek, velvety, more elegant, focused and sophisticated. This has all the traces to be the most elegant and finest vintage of Dalmau to date. There will be some 16,000 bottles of this, which should be bottled in June 2019.

The 2015 Dalmau Reserva has a slightly different blend, with more Tempranillo. It's 75% Tempranillo, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Graciano from a warm and powerful vintage. Winemaker María Vargas explained how their Cabernet Sauvignon behaves well even in warmer years like this one and that it's not easy to see overripe Cabernet. This is a very powerful and complex year, within the sleek and elegant style they search for. This feels more classical, especially on the palate, as the nose has the minty character of the French grape that, even in a small percentage, tends to mark the wine. It's a round and lush vintage of this bottling, with complexity and depth, powerful enough for a long and positive development in bottle. 20,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in April 2019.

A silky texture carries flavors of cherry, strawberry preserves, candied orange, cinnamon and vanilla in this plump red. Well-integrated tannins and sweet-tart acidity keep this focused. Shows depth and allure, in a modern style. Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon and Graciano. Drink now through 2024. Tasted twice, with consistent notes. 1,253 cases made, 100 cases imported.??–TM??Region: Spain / Rioja Select to Add