Arrocal, Ribera del Duero (Castilla y León, Spain) 2019

 I tasted this vintage of this wine both at the bodega in Spain and also in my home in late April, 2022, and was highly impressed on both occasions.  I must confess that I’ve probably become somewhat predisposed against bottles labeled as “Crianza” — even though it is my job never to be predisposed — simply because of the sheer number of examples from Spain that were lacking in fruit energy, virtually dripping with overtones of vanilla, and largely bereft in both length in the finish and depth of fruit in the midpalate.  (Rioja is largely the regional culprit behind this, but it is not alone.)  Well, this is THE bottle to cure you if you also suffer from the same syndrome of, “do I really need to deal with another Crianza?”  The wine is packed with rich, pure, deeply flavorful fruit that wears whatever oak it picked up over 12 months in barrel very lightly and as a flourish rather than as a principal component, rather like a scarf flapping in the wind behind a motorcyclist.  Sourced from vines averaging 30 years of age and aged entirely in French oak, this is packed with delicious fruit flavors (mostly black-toned) with lovely, lively spice and toast accents.  Already utterly convincing and complete, this will easily improve for another five years.  Yes, $32 is a fairly high price for anything that reads “Crianza” on the label, but the wine is worth more than that, and the word should simply be ignored in this case, as this is a unicorn among goats.