Severino Sanz, Ribera del Duero (Castilla y León, Spain) 2018

 Even having visited this producer, I’m still rather unclear on some of the details regarding the various releases, and the winery’s website shows no red wines available for sale at all.  What I can say for sure was that it was deliciously open and delicious, with nicely ripened fruit that was very expressive on both nose and palate, and thankfully free of the typical foreclosure of the finish that mars so many Crianza and Reserva bottlings.  I don’t see it on offer anywhere in the USA, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t flying under the radar or that an importer won’t start bringing it in.  If you see it, snap it up, as this is an extremely successful specimen of the breed—juicy, delightfully pure Tempranillo at a great price.  This was better than the 2016 Crianza, which was fine…but take the 2018 if you have a choice.