2016 Domaines Lupier ‘El Terrior’ Grenache

WA95 The 2016 El Terroir comes from a selection of their organic and biodynamically farmed plots, fermented with indigenous yeasts and matured between 11 and 13 months, depending on the plot, in mostly used and mostly 500- and 600-liter oak barrels. They now only replace around 8% of the barrels each vintage, so they are quite well seasoned and neutral, and the wines don’t have any oak aromas or flavors. It has crunchy fruit, red rather than black fruit, and the wine is super fresh. The oak is much better integrated than the initial vintages—it’s transparent with the wine, and you feel the fresh fruit, the rain, the soil—as a result, the wine is relaxed, harmonious and has light. This is a more complete and deeper version of the 2013, with the freshness and acidity with long life ahead. The wines show incremental improvements year after year, and the 2016 has probably helped to obtain the most complete vintage to date. It’s long, tasty, has fine chalky tannins and impressive balance. 28,203 numbered bottles were filled in June 2018.