2024 Ponce Estrecha Bobal

La Estrecha is consistently one of the most sought-after wines in the Ponce stable, and for good reason. The name refers to the "narrowness" of the vineyard - a high-density, 75-year-old plot squeezed between a forest and the La Casilla vineyard at 870 meters.

While technically Bobal-dominant, the site includes a 10% mix of other varieties like Moravia and the white Marisancho, which Juan Antonio believes are essential to the wine’s signature freshness and elegance.

The 2024 is a standout, even by Ponce’s high standards, earning a massive 98-point review from The Wine Advocate. Fermented with full clusters and aged in large 5,000-liter oak vats, it avoids the heavy grip sometimes associated with old-vine Bobal. Instead, it’s a wine of serious nuance and detail.

You get intense black cherry and plum, but they are framed by Rhône-like complexity: tar, olive, dried herbs, and wildflowers. The palate is defined by very fine, chalky tannins and a limestone-driven minerality that provides a silky texture and incredible persistence. It’s a complete, world-class red that rivals the finest wines of the Northern Rhône or Burgundy for pure finesse.

98 points
"This is always one of my favorite wines here, irrespective of the price. Here, the varietal blend and possibly the soils make it very elegant, complex and complete, with very fine chalky tannins and less grippy than those from the Pino. This could very well be the highlight from the 2024 vintage."
- Luis Gutiérrez (The Wine Advocate)