Contino Garnacha

The 2018 Garnacha was produced with grapes from three plots: Pajera, planted in 1980 on limestone-rich soils; the alluvial Central, planted in 1950; and Lentisco, a stony plot planted in 1940. The grapes fermented together in an oak vat and matured in a 2,000-liter Stockinger foudre and some eight 500-liter oak barrels, where it matured for 10 months. Welcome to Châteauneuf-du-Ebro! This is ripe, heady and powerful, very much in the Southern Rhône style, now in a Burgundy bottle. It's round and lush (even if it's "only" 14% alcohol) and in a style that you might like more or less, but I think it represents the place. It has a round and lush palate with abundant, fine-grained tannins and a dry finish. 10,665 bottles were filled in February 2020.