Terroir Al Limit, Torroja Vi de Vila, 2016

"Stunning licorice, cocoa, bitter chocolate and earth. Powerful and deep with joyful vivacity. Remarkably elegant tannins for a village wine. The finish is long and polished with intense mineral freshness. Drink or hold."

"The 2016 Torroja Vi de Vila is the village wine that is bottled earlier than the others. The oak is neatly folded into the wine, which is quite fruit-driven and fresh but with clout—especially now that they have the Historic as an entry-level wine, this can show a little more complexity. The blend of Cariñena and Garnacha in equal parts works very well. The fruit is red rather than black, and the texture is silky, with very fine tannins and great acidity. It's very lively, aromatic and open, fluid, elegant and fresh. All the reds fermented with full clusters and indigenous yeasts, and this had a ten-day maceration with the skins and stems and then aged 18 months in an oak foudre. They only have five or six 500-liter oak barrels in addition to the oak foudre, and they use concrete more and more. 16,800 bottles were filled in August 2017."