Viña Jaraba, Vino de Pago D.O.P. (La Mancha, Spain) “Selección Especial” 2021 ($20, Grapes of Spain / Aurelio Cabestrero)

This “Selección Especial” bottling from Viña Jaraba will be deemed the “pick of the litter” wine by some who are able to taste across this lineup — though I hasten to add that each year’s releases makes that a very, very hard call. As usual, the 2021 rendition shows a degree of palate impact that elevates it above its lower-priced stablemate wines — which are fabulous for their price points, whereas this is just plain fabulous. Aside from mere palate impact (which everybody knows how to achieve by managing crop load, maceration time, etc.), this also displays a degree of purity, clarity, and class in its character that shows a selection of prime fruit that was then fully respected in the cellar. Stated differently, nothing was done to wring out more from this wine than the fruit could provide gracefully during maceration, fermentation, or oak aging. There’s a lot of flavor here without a lot of weight, and the blend of 70% Tempranillo, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Merlot was beautifully handled. As a sidelight, whereas the 2019 Crianza current release invites comparison to fine Rioja, this wine seems a bit more akin to Bordeaux — and lots of bottles from that region asking $20 would run and hide if subjected to comparison to this wine.
93 Michael Franz