Bodegas Exopto - Horizonte de Exopto 2017

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the wine:

The 2017 Horizonte de Exopto red is a traditional blend of Tempranillo with 10% garnacha and graciano, but not all the grapes come from the village of Ábalos. Since 2016, they've added two plots in San Vicente de la Sonsierra. The destemmed and lightly crushed grapes fermented in concrete tanks with indigenous yeasts, and the wine matured 50/50 in 600-liter demi-muids and 225-liter barrels for a year. The wine is surprisingly fresh, expressive and aromatic with a touch of black pepper, perhaps because there are more grapes from higher altitude vines that didn't suffer frost, and the result could be fresher than some 2016 or 2015 wines. The switch to larger barrels and less oak seems to have paid off with better wood integration and additional nuance. A great success for this vintage and a nice surprise: lighter and less concentrated, but more drinkable.

James Suckling

About the wine:

It's a lovely interplay between fresh blackberries, violets, lavender and dried meat, vanilla and spice. There's also iodine, licorice and asphalt. Full-bodied, muscular but grainy tannins and layer upon layer of mellow fruit, wrapped in tender acidity. Drink in 2022.