The Wine Advocate # 255 - 30st Jun 2021 - Luis Gutiérrez - 2018 San Román • Prima - 92/100 - $25 - 2021-2026
The entry-level red is the 2018 Prima, and it's from a cool and rainy year that delivered a good crop and was picked from September 12th. It's a blend of Tinta de Toro (a.k.a. Tempranillo) and 15% Garnacha and other varieties, and it fermented in 12,500-liter stainless steel vats with indigenous yeasts and matured in oak barrels and foudres for 14 months. It's creamy but has more integrated oak, as they now don't use any 225-liter barrels anymore. This has an approachable profile that is aromatic and floral, and it's juicy and has a succulent palate. It's fruit-driven and polished by one year in bottle. This has to be one of the finest Primas to date. 200,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in May 2020.