Arrocal, Ribera del Duero (Castilla y León, Spain) 2009

Showing the sort of layered complexity and lavish richness that one would expect to find in a $75 wine rather than one ringing up for $42, this is a seriously sexy wine.  The fruit is perfectly ripened, with wonderful depth and length of flavor, yet the wine shows no hint of stewed character or over-extraction.  It has already absorbed so much of the oak from its 14 months of oak ageing that there’s virtually no overt note of wood in the aromas or flavors, and the sense of firmness from tannin is actually entirely welcome as a counter-balancing element to the lush fruit.  Completely convincing wine.