Ausas Interpretacion, Ausas, Xavier 2021

The 2021 Interpretación from Ribera del Duero was sourced and aged for 16 months in French oak barrels, with 30% new and 40% 500L oak barrels. I tasted it a couple of weeks after bottling. Garnet with a purplish sheen, its reductive nose reveals sour cherry and blackberry notes, along with dried flowers and thyme. Dry and fairly chalky on the palate, the taut and juicy flow leads to a compact mouthfeel. This is a complex and balanced red in its early stages. Drink: 2026-2040.

The serious 2021 Interpretación, his interpretation of Ribera del Duero, was produced with Tinto Fino (a.k.a. Tempranillo) grapes, fermented mostly in stainless steel and some in concrete with indigenous yeasts and matured in 225- and 500-liter French oak barrels, 30% of them new. It's ripe at 15% alcohol but has balance and freshness, reflecting the conditions of the year. It's nuanced, elegant and powerful, with ripe flavors and round, fine-grained tannins. It's a classical Ribera with power and finesse. 37,000 bottles and some larger formats produced. It was bottled in May 2023. Winemaker Javier Ausás keeps producing a single wine in Ribera del Duero from vines he owns in Nava de Roa and purchased grapes from Roa, Gumiel del Mercado and Moradillo de Roa. Drink: 2025-2034.