Mustiguillo Mestizaje

The 2007 Mestizaje is a blend of 70% Bobal, with the balance Tempranillo, Garnacha, and Cabernet Sauvignon. It was barrel-fermented and raised in oak for 6 months prior to bottling without fining or filtration. Opaque purple-colored, it offers up an alluring perfume of cedar, tobacco, black raspberry, black cherry, and violets. This is followed by a smooth-textured, layered, savory wine with lots of spice, chocolate-covered cherry and black fruit flavors. It will develop for another 2–3 years but can be enjoyed now.

Inky purple. Smoky dark berries and cherry on the nose, with complicating notes of dark chocolate and black tea. Serious, brooding dark fruit flavors are braced by dusty minerals and framed by chewy tannins. I admire this wine’s power and depth but it’ll need a hunk of fatty red meat to tame it. Fans of densely packed, masculine wines may rate it higher.