Sei Solo - Preludio 2021

Robert Parker Wine Advocate
[vintage 2016]

The second wine here, the 2016 Preludio de Sei Solo was produced with grapes from La Horra, Moradillo and Gumiel de Izán. It fermented in oak and stainless steel vats with destemmed grapes and indigenous yeasts and matured in 228- and 600-liter French oak barrels, some 40% of them new (as they need to build their collection of used oak barrels, especially the 600-liter ones). When I tasted it, the final blend was done and had been put in tank to settle for one month before bottling. It's an expressive Tempranillo (even if the old vineyards have some other grapes, even some white Albillo), ripe and juicy (it reached 14.6% alcohol), with good acidity and a juicy mouthfeel. They expect to fill some 19,000 bottles in July 2018.

Sei Solo is the solo project of ex-Ossian and now ex-Aalto Javier Zaccagnini, who is now focusing on these Ribera del Duero wines he started making as a hobby in 2007 (but only released from 2011 onward). This has now turned into his life project, and he has been joined by his son Michael who studied oenology and has been the official winemaker since 2015. They have moved their tanks and barrels from Aalto to rented space inside a winery in Pesquera, with the idea to build their own place in two or three years. The Zaccagninis are finally happy with their wines, and 2015 is the first vintage they submitted for tasting. They started with three hectares of vineyards in La Horra, and three more hectares rented there. They have continued renting vineyards and have some in the villages of Gumiel de Izán and Moradillo, a total of 15 hectares, and they plan to buy some more in the future. The idea is to make less powerful wines, combining power with finesse. Their annual output is around 25,000 bottles, but they plan to grow to 34,000 bottles in 2017. Production should increase with a further 12 hectares in La Horra in 2018.

Tim Atkin