Benjamin Romeo Colección Nº2 Carmen Hilera 2012

Lots of vivid fruit on the nose with hints of violets and blackberries. Full-bodied, layered and beautiful. Really tight and polished tannins on the palate. Shows finesse. Serious. Drink or hold.

The more classical 2012 Colección Nº 2 Carmen Hilera, a modern Gran Reserva, is always produced with the grapes from a single vineyard, La Canoca, that was planted 50 years ago with Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano and Mazuelo. It fermented in oak vats with indigenous yeasts and matured in barrel for 30 months. So, don't think it's a light-colored and developed Rioja, as it manages to combine some character of the wines from yesteryear and the best of the modern profile as mastered by Benjamín Romeo. It is nuanced, elegant and insinuating but also powerful and concentrated. It feels a lot more balanced than the previous 2011, reflecting a better vintage that, despite the warm weather and lack of rain, managed to produce better balanced wines. 3,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in February 2015.