2019 Garage Wine Co. Cru Truquilemu Cariñena Field Blend

The 2020 Cru Truquilemu is a Cariñena field blend with Syrah that comes from a low-yielding section of the old Truquilemu Vineyard that they have been vinifying for years and cultivated with a combination of original methods for cultivating the old vines—i.e., farmed by hand and horse, accompanied by the analysis and scientific ideas of Professor Alvaro Peña, who is a Garage partner and their in-house PhD in viticulture. It fermented in open-top 1,500- and 2,500-kilo lagar fermenters, using punch-downs and more stems than in the regular Truquilemu. They use first-class barrels that are third-use or older and age the wines slowly over two winters. It has 12.8% alcohol and very good freshness and acidity. This is always one of the highlights of the portfolio, and in 2020, it's no exception; it's elegant, clean and floral and with no traces of excess, subtle, more closed than other 2020s, serious and simply terrific, transcending the vintage.

Over the course of 12 vintages, Garage Wine discovered that in the Carignan vineyard (with a bit of Syrah, around 5%) there was a sector that yielded higher than others. When they drew the dividing line between the two, this Cru ended up in the lower-yielding, more concentrated fruit sector. While Truquilemu Lot 107 has an impressive acid load, this one seems much more balanced, much more approachable and even elegant, always in the context of the wines from that place, wild by nature. The tannins, like sharp needles, stick to the palate, while all around there is a party of red fruits.