PAGO DE LOS CAPELLANES RIBERA DEL DUERO JOVEN 2015
Darned if a couple of days before the Jan 31-Feb 28 Wine Spectator showed up, the latest version of the Tinto Joven from Pago de los Capellanes (2015) hit the floor. What was interesting was that, in an article titled “Editor’s Picks: 30 Wineries to Trust”, one of the 30 was Capellanes. Actually we, and you, learned to ‘trust’ these guys a long time ago. If memory serves we started what has been a long relationship with this bodega with the 1998 Joven, and sold their wines for years before Spectator, or anybody else, talked about them at all.
There have been some grand versions over the years, particularly at the Crianza and Reserva levels. But we can’t wait to see what those are like in 2015 because this Joven is more exciting than any of this Joven series that we have tasted since the beginning. It’s that darned 2015 vintage again we suspect. The gushing fruit, telltale juiciness, and gregarious flavors really put this rendition on another level.
The ‘jovens’, for those not familiar with the nomenclature, are a wineries entry level bottling, usually the first to market with a minimum of barrel time (or in some cases ‘none’). This one is 100% Tempranillo from the winery’s proerty in the Pederosa del Duero subsection. The soils here are chalk and clay which infuses all of their wines with a distinctive underpinning of minerality. The fruit component usually ranges from dark cherry to plum and, only in very special vintages, reaches into the blue fruit profiles. Sometimes these can be a little reticent out of the gate, typical of Tempranillo in its youth. But this one already has a juicy demeanor and shows off a surprisingly lush fruit core. It’s only going to get better.
They polish this one in new French oak for five months to smooth the edges and infuse a little vanilla highlight. This is way too easy to drink and one heck of an all-purpose mouthful for this kind of tab. This Joven will be a real eye-opener for those that are trying Capellanes for the first time, like that ’98 was for us so many years ago, only better. A lot of you already know the house, and the 2015 is mas delicioso. . . $16.98