The grapes for the 2020 Garnacha were harvested early to keep the typicity of the variety. It's a bit jammy and has ripe notes on the nose, but with some floral undertones, 14% alcohol and a low pH of 3.26, which means lots of freshness and also very good acidity. It feels a lot fresher than the 2018 I tasted last time. It has measured oak after maturing in 500-liter oak barrels and an 2,000-liter oak vat for 12 months and a further four months in concrete. They have definitely abandoned the Bordeaux barrel for this wine. It's tasty and dry. 10,667 bottles were filled in March 2022.

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 Chateauneuf-du-Ebro! This is ripe, heady and powerful, very much in the Southern Rh?ne 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.

They have skipped the 2016 vintage, so I tasted the 2017 Garnacha. It fermented in an oak vat with 10% full clusters and with indigenous yeasts and matured in 400- and 500-liter oak barrels for 14 months. They want to get a floral and fresh wine, so they harvested the grapes quite early, on September 14, from three plots planted in 1940, 1950 and 1980. This is very different from the previous vintages—really floral, nuanced, aromatic and expressive with hints of aromatic herbs. I think this is a great place for Garnacha in Rioja Alta and Alavesa, a warmer place where the grape can ripen properly while keeping the freshness and typicity. They harvested the grapes quite early, and the wine is bright and fresh, and it doesn't sound like a warm vintage at all. Malic was quite low, and the wine didn't go through malolactic fermentation, which has certainly added to the freshness of the wine. This is probably the wine where I see more stylistic differences between the previous vintage and this one. 4,867 bottles were filled in January 2019.

The aim for the 2015 Garnacha was to get a floral and fresh wine from early-harvested grapes. They fermented in an oak vat and matured in second and third use, 400- and 500-liter oak barrels for one year, transferred to well-seasoned, neutral 225- and 500-liter barrels to complete 20 months in oak. It has the red fruit of Garnacha and the power, but it doesn't have great complexity. It's still young, though. There is good freshness, but it could do with a little more depth. 3,646 bottles were filled in July 2017.

The have now reached the targeted amount of 3,800 bottles in the 2014 Garnacha. The grapes are harvested early trying to get a floral and light red, but with a long ageing in used 400- and 500-liter oak barrels for one year and then transferred to smaller barrels to complete 20 months in oak. The palate shows vibrant acidity, with good tension--what you have to look for in a warm place like the Contino vineyards. This is produced from very old vines; they have recently planted more Garnacha, but those new plantings have not yet come into production. Floral, perfumed and spiced, very pleasant.