Pago de los Capellanes, Ribera del Duero (Castilla y León, Spain) 2009

 Aged for a modest 5 months in oak and released while still very young, this is a great object lesson in the wonders of Tempranillo from Ribera del Duero.  Known locally as Tinto Fino, this great variety can attain a purity and succulence in Ribera del Duero that can make for an utterly charming wine when left largely as is, without the heavy overlay of oak to which Spanish winemakers still subject their wines with curious frequency.  Follow the same formula in Rioja, and the resulting wines can seem thin and unsatisfying.  Do the same thing in Toro, and the grape can seem chunky and overly simple.  But in Ribera del Duero, a top producer like Pago de los Capellanes can produce something magical from this simple vinification.  The resulting aromas are fresh and primary but not grapey or obvious, and the texture of the wine is wonderfully soft and round, with medium-plus body that it firmed up by just a hint of wood and some fine-grained grape tannin in the finish.  The flavors are delicate and pure but also deep and lasting, and the wine is already remarkably integrated at this young age.  Don’t believe a red from 2009 can really merit 92 points?  To taste is to believe.