Arrocal, Ribera del Duero DO (Castilla y León, Spain) 2018

 This high-end red from the 2018 vintage in Ribera del Duero speaks very well for the vintage, but this bottling from Arrocal is always so alluring that the producer may have more to do with its excellence than the growing season.  One look at the wine in the glass reveals its seriousness, as it is very deeply pigmented and viscous in appearance when swirled.  The fruit is very expressive and so is the oak, yet they are very well integrated at this relatively early stage in the wine’s development.  It is softer and sexier in texture than the Crianza “passion” bottling from this same vintage, and as an analogy for comparison, this wine comes across more as a backrub as opposed to a backscratch — though of course both feel good.  Still, this seems obviously worth the $7 needed to move up to this from the Crianza, and so good that deciding to pony up another $13 to move up to the 2016 Reserva “Ángel” is not so easy.  You’d really need to try a bottle of both to make a decision for yourself, which is exactly what I recommend that you do.