Finca Sandoval Signo Bobal, Manchuela, Spain

圣多瓦標(biāo)志博巴爾紅葡萄酒

點擊次數(shù)：6565

The 2020 Signo Bobal was produced with a selection of plots with more limestone but also iron, rocks and organic matter, mostly Bobal but, as with all old vines, with some 10% other varieties. It fermented with 40% full clusters with indigenous yeasts and matured in 500-liter French oak barrels for 18 months. It has 14% alcohol and good freshness. This is the most powerful of the 2020s, concentrated, serious, balanced. This is very Bobal, combining the varietal rusticity with a certain elegance. To me, this is what Bobal should be. There's no La Rosa in 2020. 3,600 bottles were filled in January 2022.

The 2015 Signo Bobal contains 9% Syrah, as none of the wines (so far) have been pure varietals. It has ripeness but good freshness for a very warm and dry year that produced a majority of very powerful wines. It comes from head-pruned vines planted in 1970 on gravel and clay soils at 820 meters in altitude. It fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured in 300-liter oak barrels. It has black fruit and licorice notes, a juicy, medium to full-bodied palate with pungent flavors and some chalky tannins. 11,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in October 2016.

Like all of the wines here, the 2014 Signo Bobal is not a varietal wine but contains 6% Syrah and some 6% Alicante Bouschet (Garnacha Tintorera) to complement the Bobal grape, the main varietal in the Manchuela zone. The Bobal comes from very old head-pruned and dry-farmed vines. It fermented with destemmed, uncrushed grapes with indigenous yeasts followed by malolactic in barrel and 11 months' élevage. It has plenty of Bobal character, a grape that really thrives in the zone, and even shows some elegance within the rustic character of the grape. What I tasted from 2014 feels quite balanced and has good acidity, also within the powerful style the zone provides. 9,900 bottles were filled in August 2015.

The 2013 Signo Bobal contains some 11% Syrah, as there are no pure varietal wines here. 2013 was a cool and rainy year, which was a positive in warm regions. The Bobal is sourced from 74-year-old vines, and the estate Syrah was planted in 1998. It fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured in used 300-liter oak barrels for 11 months. This is the darkest of the three reds I tasted, as the Bobal grape has more color than the other grapes. It has a characterful, varietal nose with some earthy notes and slowly unfurling notes of cured meat. The tannins are dusty but fine: when there's good viticulture and moderate yields, the tannins do not show the rusticity they show when they do not ripen properly because of high yields. As all the wines here, the nose is reticent and takes time to open up. 7,650 bottles and 100 magnums were filled in August 2014.

2012 seems like a balanced vintage in the region. It took heat better than the central and northern vineyards in Spain (as seen in 2006 and 2012). The 2012 Signo Bobal follows the house philosophy not to do varietal wines, so it contains some 11% Syrah. The Bobal is sourced from old vineyards (like all of the variety there) while the estate Syrah was planted in 1998. It was fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured in used 300-liter oak barrels. The nose shows the rustic character of the grape with black fruit, licorice, hints of tree bark and a floral, violet-like background coming through as rustically elegant. The palate shows the Bobal tannins that would benefit from some time in bottle, even though these old vineyards provide much more balanced tannins than do the young vines. It has supple flavors and a juicy texture with a very tasty finish. This is a great example of Bobal, somehow different from the wines from Ponce. 8,040 bottles.