Nabal 2022 Ribera del Duero Tempranillo 750ml

The nose mixes cloves and desert scrub with a spicy balsamic hint. It opens with more weight than Rioja on the palate and a richer and smoother texture. Look for cassis, red plum, mulberries, vanilla, leather, and tobacco supercharged by a dry year with extreme temperature fluctuations that have reduced the acidity, concentrating the wine but promising a shorter bottle life. Drink now through 2027. Technically, the Nabal bush vines were planted about 40-50 years ago on slightly sloping land of calcareous clay soil at 850 meters. The berries are wild fermented in stainless steel. A natural malolactic fermentation follows a post-fermentative maceration of a maximum of three days before the wine is transferred to new French (40%) and American (60%) oak barrels for nine months. Good value.

Score: 90 points -- Anthony Gismondi, gismondionwine.com, 2024