Numanthia Termes 2020

Gorgeous floral character to the crushed stone and purple fruit. Lavender and sage, too. Full-bodied with chewy tannins and a savory yet crunchy finish. Dark mushroom and fresh earth. Super length and brightness for this wine.

Ripe and fruit-forward on the nose, though more restrained on the palate, this red offers flavors of blackberry paste, dried blueberry and cranberry fruit woven through dried sage, marjoram, warmed spices and cocoa powder, backed by rich notes of fresh earth and iron. There's a creamy nappe to the texture, while fine tannins firm up the supple finish.

The 2020 Termes, the entry-level red, has 15.65% alcohol and a pH of 3.9 with 4.2 grams of acidity. The grapes from their younger vines, which have higher yields and keep more acidity, fermented with selected yeasts and 20 days of maceration and matured in 225- and 400-liter French oak barrels, 20% of them new, for 14 months with rackings every four months. It's creamy and spicy, round and soft, with fine-grained tannins and integrated oak (nearly 50% of the élevage was in 400-liter oak barrels), and it's rich but with the alcohol nicely integrated. This has a more commercial profile, more approachable than its siblings.