The 2013 Blecua was quite similar to the 2014 I tasted next to it, even if the blend was slightly different—49% Merlot, 41% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Syrah, 2% Garnacha and 2% Tempranillo—but 20 months in new barriques has erased all varietal nuances and just makes the wine feel over-oaked. They want this to be the icon of Somontano, hence the price. But I think they are 15 years too late. All this complemented by 14.5% alcohol and four grams of residual sugar. It was less oaky than the 2014, still with abundant herbal notes and spices. The palate has abundant grainy tannins and oak-related flavors but is fresher and more fluid than the 2014. 5,944 bottles produced. It was bottled in December 2015.

Somontano is not exactly prime real estate among Spanish wine regions, but Blecua, a four-grape blend led by Cabernet Sauvignon, is one of the best wines the region has to offer. Smoke, licorice, rooty cola and lemony oak aromas mix with flavors of blackberry, coffee, cola and roasted meats. It’s a bit choppy and hard now, but time will help it along. A classy wine to drink from 2011 through 2016.——M.S.(8/1/2010)—— 91

A little more herbal, stalky and tomato-influenced than the riper, fresher 2005, but still an elegant, complex wine that shines a positive light on this little-known region at the base of the Pyrenees. Tobacco, tomato leaf, root beer and bouillon flavors set up an herbal, almost Bordeaux-like finish. Layered and structured to boot. Drink now through 2012.——M.S.(8/1/2010)—— 90