Ixsir El Ixsir 2016

The 2015 EL red is mostly a 55/35 blend of Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon with 10% Merlot aged for 24 months in an equal mixture of new and used French oak. It comes in at 14.7% alcohol. This, the latest release in our trilogy this issue, is a shock to the system. It handles the oak well, relatively speaking, but it is so much more primary in its fruit development that it just seems radically different. I suspect it isn't that radically different—that, when it comes around, there will be more complexity here and a more sensual feel, as with its siblings. For the moment, let's start here. Although it seems approachable in terms of its moderate tannins, this does need a few years to show all it has to show. For the moment, while this is very well done, it seems far behind the 2011.