El Chaparral 2011 from Navarra is produced by Bodegas Nekeas and is an estate bottled wine.
I feel more attracted to estate bottled wines, because they were made by proud winemakers, who showcase how a single estate can produce grapes, do magnificent work with them (winemaking) and then should it be required, mature the wine.
That got me wondering, can you feel or taste love?
I think I can taste a lot of care and love these people put into this wine. Some people call it as ‘expressive of terrior’, which is also true as this wine is estate bottled, but you taste this elegance that can only come from inspired people.
The label reveals more details about the location and the vineyards so no point for me to comment on that. Yet let me have a few words on the taste – ripe red and hints of forest fruit are definitely there, they are clean and pleasant, somewhat underlined by a little bit of oak, yet the wine is still fresh. This freshness can sometimes be a problem- I do not like excessive acidity, but the opposite is also true – without it your wine will taste quite stale and jammy (talking about hotter climates).
Overall it is a gorgeous wine – ripe but fresh, elegant yet very juicy, and somewhat intense.
This Navarra wine is highly recommended (apparently not just by me but by Parker 90 points, again, if you care!)
