Bodegas Pujanza Finca Valdepoleo 2016
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James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Clean and bright black cherry red color with deep aromas of red berries and subtle blackberry notes. Fresh and complex. Harmonious and multi-layered. A robust red with fine, well polished tannins, very well balanced and integrated.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Now here’s a Rioja where the wood hasn’t been dialed up, and it’s all the better for it. It’s an idiosyncratic wine with heather, forest floor, blackberries and cumin and cinnamon. Full-bodied and very focused on the center palate, it trades in medium-chewy tannins and a spicy finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
I was speculating whether 2016 could be a modern version of 2010 even though the climate pattern was quite different, and when tasting the 2016 Finca Valdepoleo with Carlos San Pedro, he told me he wasn't very happy with his 2010s and that he preferred the 2007s. There is great finesse and elegance here, in the winery's modern style with a lively palate and great acidity. This is produced with grapes from a vineyard planted in the 1970s that is almost 15 hectares, and it basically goes to this wine. The vineyard is vinified in seven different plots, and since 2013, when they harvested early and did a softer vinification, it has gained in precision; in a way, this 2016 could be the modern version of that 2013. It has very fine tannins, nicely integrated oak and a tasty, almost salty finish that makes you salivate. A great Valdepoleo. Rating: 93+
Other Vintages
2017-
James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker
Founded by Carlos San Pedro in 1998 at the age of 25 with 15 Hectares inherited from his family, Bodegas Pujanza has become in just over two decades a true “First-Growth” in Rioja Alavesa, making unforgettable estate-grown single-vineyard, high-altitude wines that showcase exuberant fruit, finesse and beautiful integration. Over the years, Carlos tirelessly sourced and acquired some of the most unique old-vine plots in the region adding up to nearly 40 Hectares.
Carlos San Pedro's wines have been internationally recognized by the world's top critics, consistently applauding his dedication to crafting truly authentic Rioja Alavesa wines where each parcel's unique soil and characteristics are directly translated into the personality of the wine.