The 2021 Malpaso Syrah was produced with grapes from 22- and 25-year-old trellised vines on sandy soils in Méntrida. It fermented in open-top 1,500- and 5,000-liter oak vats with stems and foot treading, and it matured in 500-, 600- and 2,000-liter French oak barrels for one year. It has an intense nose of olives, balsam, aromatic herbs, bacon fat and a smoky twist. It's medium to full-bodied with a juicy texture and fine-grained tannins. It shows the freshness of the year, following the path of the 2018. 21,750 bottles produced. It was bottled in August 2022.

The super aromatic and showy 2018 Malpaso is pure Syrah from Méntrida that shows a textbook northern Rh?ne-ish nose of smoked bacon, violets, olives and tar. I think this variety is better suited for cooler years, as it's better in the north than in the south of the Rh?ne. It's dark and juicy, savory and full of flavors, very spicy and with a finish of aromatic herbs. It's a cool personality with Mediterranean flavors. This is truly impressive and, like many wines from Canopy this time, possibly the best vintage to date. A beautiful expression of Syrah on granite.

Pure Syrah from vines in Méntrida, the 2017 Malpaso fermented with full clusters in open 1,500- and 5,000-liter oak vats and matured in barrels of different sizes for around one year. It has an explosive nose with notes of black olives, smoked bacon, violets and an herbal twist. It doesn't show the heat of the vintage and instead comes through as fresh, expressive and vibrant; it's medium-bodied with vibrant acidity and is very easy to drink. It seems like the way they work—picking the grapes early to avoid too much ripeness, fermenting with stems in a non-extractive way and aging the wines in larger barrels to avoid notes of wood—works well with the variety. 21,500 bottles produced. It was bottled in October 2018.

The pure Syrah 2016 Malpaso comes from vines in Méntrida, not really part of the Gredos Mountains, and not Garnacha either... I don't know why, but they always have a very expressive Syrah that reminds me of wines from the Rh?ne, I don't know if it's the place, the strain planted, the way they make it or a combination of everything. It's balsamic and smoky with a herbal twist, open and expressive. The palate is medium-bodied with fine-grained tannins and good balance. It shows a little more freshness than the 2015 and is consistent with the character of the year. 19,800 bottles were filled in November 2017.

From the wines that are not from the Gredos part, the 2015 Malpaso is pure Syrah from 19- to 21-year-old vines on sandy soils. It fermented with full clusters in open 1,500- and 5,000-liter vats. Once it fermented, the wine matured in 500- and 600-liter French oak barrels and 2,000-liter oak vats for about one year. It's super balsamic, with tons of aromatic herbs, smoky with plenty of black olives. The palate is full-bodied, powerful and concentrated but with fine tannins, very tasty. 2015 is a warm and ripe vintage, but the wine keeps the freshness, which is a characteristic of their wines. The oak is always perfectly integrated. 17,200 bottles were filled in October 2016.