The Ribera del Duero project has been changing and a work in progress for a while ,and there's only one wine produced, of which this time I tasted the 2016 Matallana. It's a traditional blend of Tempranillo with approximately 15% other grapes—Valenciano (Bobal), Navarro (Garnacha) and white Albillo—from different soils in five different villages, Sotillo de la Ribera, Roa, Fuentecén, Fuentemolinos and Pardilla. It fermented in oak and stainless steel vats with indigenous yeasts and matured for 14 months in French oak barrels of different ages. 2016 was also an abundant crop of wines with freshness. It's a traditional red with elegant rusticity and subtle aromas, already gaining some tertiary notes, integrated oak and a medium to full-bodied palate with fine-grained tannins, fine but still identifiable as Ribera del Duero. They have the idea to renovate an old house to make the winery but they are facing bureaucratic problems... 22,665 bottles produced. It was bottled in May and June 2018. There will be no 2017 of this wine.- LG

Attractive blackberry, black plum and dark chocolate character. Full-bodied and chewy with slightly austere tannins and a long, flavorful finish. Needs another year or two of bottle age, to allow it to soften. Drink after 2021.