Cirsion, Bodegas Roda 2016

Released much earlier than the rest of the wines, the 2016 Cirsion is produced with very ripe grapes that they think need less time in oak, and the wine is therefore bottled and released earlier. It's a blend of Tempranillo with 11% Graciano matured in new French barriques for eight months, bottled and released ten months later. This is young and heady, explosive, with plenty of ripe fruit and a hedonistic profile. It has abundant, very fine tannins and a good thread of acidity going through its core that lifts the finish. It's unashamedly modern and showy. 12,500 bottles were filled in March 2018.

This is the new 2001. Superb. Amazing aromas and flavours of dark fruit, spice, tobacco, fresh herbs and dark berries. It goes on for minutes on the palate. Full-bodied, tight and chewy. Superb structure. Needs at least three or four years to soften. Better in 2021.