Akutain Reserva

I tasted two vintages of the Reserva, starting with the older 2015 Reserva, a wine produced with 93% Tempranillo, 5% Garnacha and 2% Viura from their own vineyards in Gembres, the highest-altitude vineyard they have, the jewel of the crown. It fermented with indigenous yeasts for eight days and was let to settle in tank until the spring, during which time it was racked three times to achieve a very clear wine to be aged for some 38 months in used barrels, 70% of them American. It's a lot more backward and austere than the Crianza, but there's a lot of wine here. It's layered, complex, nuanced and spicy, with notes of licorice, smoke and tobacco, red and black fruit and a very powerful palate with brilliant freshness and balance. It's velvety, juicy and nuanced and should be long lived. 6,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in September 2019.