El Espinal de Exopto

The more Bordelais of the reds is the 2020 El Espinal, pure Maturana Tinta, a.k.a. Castets, a relative of Carmenere that displays those notes of green peppers and spice that feel a bit alien here. But the wine is superb and features the high percentage of active limestone in the soil in the shape of a dry, chalky sensation, a mouthfeel, a texture rather than an aroma or flavor. It comes from one vineyard in San Vicente at 650 meters in altitude in a cold and Atlantic environment that was regrafted from Garnacha to Maturana Tinta some 25 years ago. I'd like to add it blind to a flight of Bordeaux for William Kelley! 2020 suffered a late frost, so yields were lower; 800 bottles were filled in February 2022, after 15 months in used 600-liter French oak barrels.