A wine that is born at night, as its name denotes, Gaubela, is a Basque word that means ‘during the night’. After completing a 12-day fermentation process, the grapes are tread while inside the tank, as in old times; at the end of the day, small wooden containers are placed beneath the tank and during the night these collect every last drop of wine, produced from the pressure the grapes exert on each other. By the next morning, we have about 300 litres of an exceedingly exclusive, complex and unique wine.
This Tempranillo from 84 year-old vines will remain in French casks for the necessary time until its aroma and flavour indicate it is ready (by tasting, in words by Norberto Miguel Aguillo).
The 2012 is in a beautiful place right now. Upon opening the wine the aromatics coming out of the bottle show the wine is in the optimal window for consumption. Notes of red fruits, currants, tobacco, black cherries, cooked baking spices cascade across the palate with well integrated silky tannins and an acid which still has lots of life. The wine sings for a long time on the finish. This is a must buy for a serious Tempranillo fan.