2022 Viña Zorzal Graciano Navarra

The varietal 2022 Graciano was produced with grapes from Corella in an approachable and fresh style with typicity produce with very soft pump-overs. It fermented in stainless steel and matured in French oak barrels of different sizes, 225-, 300-, 400- and 500-liter ones, for nine months. It has a moderate 12.8% alcohol, a pH of 3.39 and 5.65 grams of acidity, denoting freshness and purity with some honeyed notes and hints of beeswax and pollen. Graciano behaves well in warm years. This is a bargain. (LG)

Viña Zorzal is well-known for their dedication to Graciano – it’s the variety that helped put them on the global wine radar, and this wine shows exactly why that attention is so well-deserved. Typically a blending grape in both Navarra and neighboring Rioja, the grape contributes both color and acidity, as well as more delicate floral and even lightly spicy aromas. On its own, especially from old vines in warm areas, it thrives. This wine is more black than red-fruited, with juicy blackberry and black plum notes, as well as faint candied violet and iris in the background. The balance between fruit and structure here is impeccable, with racy acidity that ties everything together and silky, fine-grained tannins from the nine months this wine spent in larger French oak casks. Firmly medium-bodied, slightly more intense floral flavors emerge on the palate, along with earthy forest floor and licorice notes. This is very simply, another stunning deal for the price.