2015 Falcoeira a Capilla Valdeorras, Telmo Rodriguez

Deep black-cherry nose with a thousand floral and spicy nuances. Stunning concentration and very elegant, dry tannins within a very slim silhouette. Super long and breathtakingly delicate finish. Made from a mencía dominated field blend. Drink or hold, and this has decades of potential.

The 2015 Falcoeira A Capilla had a strong balsamic streak. This is the first vintage fermented in open oak vat and matured in foudre, and it might have changed its personality a bit. This is from a south-facing vineyard, the earliest to be harvested of the three reds. The vineyard is planted with young vines on very poor granite soils, and the plants suffer in the summer, perhaps more in line with the reds from Ribeira Sacra across the river than the other reds, with an austere sensation and a Mediterranean twist, perhaps marked by the character of the vintage with notes of rockrose, soy sauce and iodine. The vineyard is slowly finding its balance, and I found more character here-and even more elegance and finesse-than in 2014. 2,625 bottles were filled in May 2016.