2021 Bodegas Ponce Manchuela La Estrecha

Community Tasting Notes (1) Avg Score: 87 points

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  8/27/2023 - forceberry wrote: 87 Points

  The fruit is sourced from a densely-planted vineyard that is about 80 years old. Officially this is a single-vineyard Bobal, but in reality there's also a small portion of other local varieties that make about 5-10% of the blend. The grapes are picked in whole clusters that are fermented spontaneously in 4500-liter French oak vats. After the fermentation the wine is aged for 10 months in old 600-liter demi-muids. 12,5% alcohol.
  
  Dark, moderately translucent and rather youthful ruby-red color. The nose feels surprisingly green-toned and mulchy along with aromas of black raspberries, some beet root, light crunchy notes of fresh dark plums, a little bit of sous-bois, a hint of juicy red cherry and a faint vinegary touch of pickle juice. The wine feels crunchy, acid-driven and slightly wild on the palate with a light-to-medium body and dry flavors of tart cranberries and fresh blackberries, some brambly blacl raspberry tones, a little bit of earthy spice, light vegetal herby tones, a hint of pickled beet and a zesty, Campari-like touch of chinotto. The structure relies mostly on the bright, high acidity - not on the light, supple and easy tannins. The finish is fresh, dry and slightly grippy with a moderately long, subtly wild aftertaste of fresh blackcurrant-driven dark berries, some green vegetal and pickle tones, a little bit of tart cranberry, light earthy nuances, a hint of tart dark plum and a touch of sour cherry bitterness.
  
  A pleasant, bright and refreshing effort that was surprisingly vegetal - something I did not expect from this wine. Normally these Ponce reds have been fresh and crunchy, but still showing enough ripeness to come across as fruity and vibrant. This wine, on the other hand, showed some vegetal tones that didn't really suit the wine that well. Although the bright fruit flavors, refreshing acidity and crunchy overall character made the wine feel pretty enjoyable a drink, I couldn't help but feel that this would've been much better had it not been so green-toned. I have no idea if there was something wrong with this bottle or if it was just this vintage, but I feel the wine shouldn't be this green. Considering this is supposed to be the top-tier wine of the domaine (after their flagship red, Ponce), this was something of a let-down. Not really worth the price at 23,95€.

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