March 27, 2023 - Medium bodied, blended traditional and modern styling, mid-length mid-quality natural cork. Starting to drink really well -- fruit and spice from secondaries are harmonizing. Now-2030+
November 10, 2022 - Agree with WetRock's note below. Rich and peppery, but the fruit almost takes a back seat to a strong bitterness or astringency (presumably from the stem inclusion). It's Halcon Esquisto so I love it, but not as much as the preceding 4 vintages. It's a bit severe.
August 1, 2022 - Very stemmy yet and I don't really see the fruit depth to soak that in. The nose is not unpleasant, even nice but you really have to appreciate the smoked veggies over the almost floral fruit. Solid celery stalk note on the palate. Pleasant build and structure. If not for the stem expression this would probably turn heads. Still quite astringent.
March 27, 2022 - "Dark, brooding, delicious, peppery." Yes, these things. I enjoyed this over the span of 5-days tasting-in on three of them. No degradation or loss of impact to find. The wine basically tastes like the Rayas you imagined before being disappointed in your purchase(s). ABV completely in check. Flavors through the roof. I'll grant, somewhat foursquare, but this is the style. There is a sweetness in the fruit indicative of the Grenache influence. I'm sure this wine (and its successors) have many years until they reach their full maturity.
November 14, 2021 - Dark, brooding, delicious, peppery.
June 5, 2021 - Popped and poured, initially pretty tight this took a good hour or so to open up. After doing so, nice balance, enough acidity and structure to serve as counterpoint to the flavors. Like many grenache-based wines, I think I preferred this young.
March 12, 2021 - Nose is earthy and rustic, with herbs and black fruits. The palate is a mix of barely ripe dark fruits with stem flavors, fairly high acidity, and tannins that are very present on the finish. This is bordering on not enough fruit for me.
February 28, 2021 - Where last bottle was not drinkable... this one was. Not my style and similar notes to Cris... the juice is fighting itself in the bottle and a harsh wine.
November 27, 2020 - This version shows quite young. The stem inclusion is still showing strongly on the nose. A bit green actually in the way of pepper and veggies on the nose. Astringent tannin on the palate. The fruit is ripe, berry compote. Over a couple nights this all relaxes and shows more integration than it does when initially popped. The tannin sticks strong. I'm not certain the fruit has the backbone for much development but I would like to see that stemmy tannin relax more. Going to leave the other bottle alone a few more years. Drinks nice now but decant roughly.
October 25, 2020 - Still really young. Currants, tart cherries, cloves, bell peppers, and toasted sage. Going to be really good, but give it another 18-24 months at least.