Dominio de Atauta 2020

The eponymous 2020 Dominio de Atauta feels superb, one of the finest bottlings of this cuvée to date. Produced with a selection of the best terroirs from the valley, it was cropped from a rainier year when there was no stress for the plants, which delivered larger and more bunches. They compare 2020 to 2016, another cooler year with vibrant wines and very good freshness. This feels a little lighter next to the warmer and drier 2019 despite having similar parameters of alcohol and acidity/freshness but with an extra kick here. The palate feels terribly balanced and has very fine tannins, great purity and a long, clean and tasty finish. It matured in barrels, 15% of them new, followed by four months in oak vats. This is the second largest production of this cuvée after 2016, with 56,335 bottles and 900 magnums. It was bottled in July 2022.

This deep-ruby colored wine has aromas of blackberry, violet and cocoa powder. Black-cherry, raspberry, coffee-bean, cocoa-nib, licorice and rose-petal flavors are set into fine-grained tannins. A sense of fruit-filled brightness and chocolate covered mint flavors endure on the palate.

Dominio de Atauta's biggest volume red is, pretty remarkably, a Tinto Fino that's sourced from vineyards that are between 130 and 185 years' old on clay soils over a limestone base. Dense, compact and intense, it has the classic garrigue aromas of the Soria sub-region of Ribera del Duero, lots of grip, damson, fig and mulberry fruit and well-handled 15% new wood. 2025-30

Attractive black cherries, red plums, dark chocolate, walnuts, crushed herbs and spices. Full-bodied, broad and chewy with chalky texture to the tannins and juicy acidity. Polished and lengthy. Well crafted. Try from 2025.