Frontonio 2018/2019 Las Alas de Frontonio Garnacha 750ml

There was a big jump in quality from 2015 to 2016, and now the 2018 Las Alas de Frontonio La Tejera feels like it's also an improvement over the 2016. It was produced with a Garnacha-based field blend, as the 1.4-hectare 85-year-old vineyard where it comes from also has some Macabeo. It's a plot on clay, slate and quartzite soils at 630 meters in altitude with a northwest orientation. They used approximately 50% of full clusters for the native fermentation in open-top oak barrels, which allowed them to foot tread the grapes. The wine matured in small (550-liter) oak vats from Italy for 14 months in a cold underground cellar. This is aromatic and elegant, ethereal, perfumed—I have never noticed such elegance in this wine before. The palate is very elegant, with very fine tannins and subdued minerality, long, elegant. It has electric minerality and citrus freshness. This was a revelation, full of energy. 

Score: 95 points -- Luis Gutierrez, The Wine Advocate, 2020

The 2019 Las Alas de Frontonio La Tejera was produced with a Garnacha-based field blend, as the 1.4-hectare 85-year-old vineyard where it comes from also has some Macabeo. It's a plot on clay, slate and quartzite soils at 630 meters in altitude with a northwest orientation in the village of Alpartir. They used 100% full clusters for the native fermentation in open-top oak barrels, which allowed them to foot-tread the grapes. The wine matured for 14 months in small (550-liter) oak vats from Italy in a cold underground cellar 17 meters below ground. This has a spectacular nose, subtle and elegant and an improvement even over the great 2018. It's vibrant and pungent, and the tannins are very fine, slightly chalky and give it a nice texture. There's a salty twist on the finish. 2,643 bottles were filled in September 2021.

Score: 96 points -- Luis Gutierrez, The Wine Advocate, 2021