Abel Mendoza Graciano Grano a Grano

The 2021 Graciano Grano A Grano is stunning, aromatic spicy and peppery with great freshness and contained ripeness but with very good balance. It was produced with hand-destemmed grapes from individual vines in five vineyards in the different villages where he works—San Vicente de la Sonsierra, Ábalos and Labastida. It fermented in small 1,300-liter stainless steel vats with indigenous yeasts and matured in 500-liter French oak barrels, where it underwent malolactic fermentation and 18 months of aging. It has a nose to die for—perfumed, floral and peppery, with abundant notes of freshly cracked peppercorns, nuanced, elegant and with an ethereal feeling to it. It is medium-bodied, with very fine tannins and vibrant freshness. The parameters show the feeling in the mouth, contained ripeness and a moderate 13.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.28 and 6.1 grams of acidity. Superb! This should age effortlessly in bottle. 3,500 bottles produced. It was bottled in May 2023.

The 2018 Graciano Grano A Grano is nothing short of amazing, because I wonder how this variety that everybody says is very difficult to ripen can deliver a wine like this is a vintage like 2018. I think the answer is a lot of work in the vineyard, which is the secret of what Mendoza does. The wine is more elegant than ever, fine, fresh, balanced, nuanced and super tasty, vibrant and fresh, with 13.5% alcohol and a pH of 3.43. Brilliant... The finest Graciano in the world? It matured for 18 months in French oak barrels, now mostly 500-liter ones. 2,295 bottles were filled in March 2020.