Bodegas Valderiz, Ribera del Duero (Castilla y León, Spain) 2014

 Only about 3,500 bottles of this are made in an average year from two parcels wine vines averaging 80 or more years of age.  Although it is very rich and almost bottomless in its depth of flavor even while some years away from its apogee, it is still not an overblown “statement wine” (that’s my term; the Spanish used to refer to the genre as “high expression wines”) that is impressive but not really enjoyable to drink.  On the contrary, this is a wine of great class and lovely style, with wonderful cocoa accents on a deep berry fruit core, with very nicely calibrated oak accents.  I also tasted the 2010 release of this wine, which was even a bit better, yet still probably improving, with years of enjoyment still lurking under its cork.  Fantastic wines at this address.