Oxer Wines Gaxen 2024

There's a new red produced with Maturana Tinta, the 2024 Gaxen, from 15-year-old vines in Laguardia. It fermented in semi-carbonic maceration in 1,000-liter oak vats with indigenous yeasts and had two to three weeks of maceration, then it was pressed in a vertical press and matured in a 600-liter oak barrel. It has low alcohol, 12.5%, a pH of 3.4 (after malolactic) and almost seven grams of acidity. Surprisingly enough, there are no green notes. He deleafs the vines two weeks before the harvest to avoid the pyrazines if the grapes get the sun, and he believes in picking the grapes fresh. So, you can achieve something very interesting. Ripening the variety too much gives some chocolatey notes to the wine that I dislike, and there's nothing like that here. There are plenty of tannins here that suggest waiting a little before pulling the cork. This is super interesting and a completely different Maturana Tinta, with finesse and texture. Only 800 bottles produced. It was bottled in May 2025. This is the first vintage for this wine, and it's a noteworthy first attempt!