Pago de La Jaraba, La Jaraba DOP (La Mancha, Spain) 2019

 The top wine from this estate is outstanding again in the 2019 vintage.  Although I scored it only a single point above the 2019 “Selección Especial” bottling, the wines are showing very differently, and accordingly should be considered differently by would-be buyers.  This top bottling clearly has superior juice in the bottle, as the fruit is both more concentrated and also brighter and more intense, with a much more prominent signature from the 100% new oak barriques in which it sent through malolactic and much of its aging.  Whereas the “Selección Especial” seems remarkably open in its many charms, this wine has much more headroom for improvement, though I hasten to add that it is already highly enjoyable.  To be more specific, it will become more integrated as it absorbs its oak influence, even though the proportions seem just right already, and will likewise become more complex as tertiary notes emerge from bottle aging, even though it is already showing more than a one-two punch of fruit and wood.  When this really hits its stride about five years from now, my score may actually look a point or two low in retrospect, which is admittedly an astonishing piece of speculation regarding a score of 94 points for a $29 wine.  Buy this, and then try hard to keep your mitts off of it — difficult though that will be.