Mauro 2022 and Mauro VS 2022
I have finished packing for my Bordeaux En Primeur tasting week and as I have just come back from Ribera, it feels like perfect afternoon to release the 2022 vintage of Mauro and VS.
The vintage started with a low temperatures and low water table which slightly delayed the start of the growing season and in turn, protected the buds from the spring frosts. Sporadic rain in late spring provided perfect conditions for the flowering following which, the summer remained hot and dry allowing for very fine conditions for harvest. The dry summer produced berries with thicker, fuller skins and reduced liquid volumes which yielded ripe and concentrated juice with highly polished tannins.
Overall, fine conditions to make great wines.
Full notes below:
2022 Mauro was charming and joy to taste even from barrel during the ageing - tasted 3 times from the barrel as well as at few trade tastings since release. The small addition of Cabernet Sauvignon and Graciano from the new, high-altitude vineyards has added well needed freshness and reduced alcohol in a hot vintage like 2002. Eduardo has somehow managed to combine the best of Ribera intensity with freshness and backbone of a fine Bordeaux. The resulting wine displays fresh, crunchy, late summer black fruit with fine core of spicy, minty wood and polished tannins in the back. An extraordinary value at this price. At this early stage it would work very well with most things you wish to pop on a charcoal barbeque, a large rib of beef, grilled red peppers, mushrooms, aubergines, or a soft, slowly roasted leg of lamb or pork or even a whole halibut. Very versatile. After a day (or even two) opened and kept in a fridge, more complexity comes forward allowing for some dark chocolate and mediterranean spices. Enjoy now or hang on for 5- 10 years, your choice, but it deserves to be in any decent cellar.
Despite the unmistakeable great value, it is not wine you would buy with resale in mind.
All the vintages are of a very high quality, and wine lovers just buy recent releases to enjoy which means there is a very limited demand for mature vintages.
However, if you are investing in your own pleasure, this is a must have for any decent cellar.
Mauro VS 2022 - ZR18+(+);
I think that Louis is being a bit mean here with only 95 points (especially looking at the note). Ok, it is bit tight at this early stage, hence my 2nd (+) in brackets, but this is a superior, more sophisticated wine than the regular Mauro. The juice comes from oldest, selected north facing Tempranillo vineyards in the villages of Traspinedo and Tudela. Th north exposure slows the final stages of ripening producing grapes with extra fine tannins, and the old, deep roots provide plenty of microelements for complexity; a perfect combination for wines with great capacity to age and develop into some of the finest wines out there. At this early stage, the tannins are still very present, but they are refined and polished, providing a solid frame for the fleshy, dark fruit to fill the mid palate and soft vanilla with hints of cedar in the background. I would suggest that holding on to it for 3 - 5 years will handsomely repay the patience and provide pleasure for at least 10 years after.
Wishing you all the best
Zoran
City Wine Collection Ltd