I tasted two vintages from the flagship oaked Garnacha, the youngest of which was the 2018 Tres Picos Garnacha. But unfortunately, I found both vintages (this and the warmer 2017) to be overtly oaky, with aromas that masked the personality of the grape and gave them an international profile of toast, spice and smoke and a palate with similar flavors plus a bitter twist in the finish. I'd much rather drink the young unoaked Borsao Tinto Selección than this one. The technical data mentions that it spent about six months in new French oak and has 15% alcohol. 200,000 bottles.

The 2017 Tres Picos Garnacha has the disadvantage of a warmer and riper year and also from having lost the exuberance of the 2018 I tasted next to it. It's less aromatic, and even if the élevage was slightly shortened, the palate seems to have suffered more from the effect of the new oak, which to me doesn't really match the character of the floral and aromatic Garnacha. For fans of oaky, powerful reds. 175,000 bottles produced.

The minty and balsamic 2016 Tres Picos Garnacha is difficult to identify as Garnacha. It matured in new French oak barrels for five months, which gives it a roasted and smoky character. It's very intense and might overpower food. It has abundant tannins and a dusty texture. A very oaky red in the end-of-the-1990s style. 192,000 bottles produced.

I was surprised by the balsamic, minty, hinting-on-eucalyptus nose of the 2015 Tres Picos Garnacha to the point that I thought I was smelling the Syrah Zarihs. But no, this is a ripe and heady Garnacha aged in French oak barrels for five months. There are intense roasted aromas and a rich, meaty palate with herbal and smoky flavors, a bit heady, reminiscent of the nose. A very showy Tres Picos. 384,000 bottles produced.

The outstanding 2014 Tres Picos (Garnacha) is 100% Grenache and comes from some of their oldest Grenache vineyards on the slopes of the Moncayo Mountains. Yields are less than two tons of fruit per acre and this wine was aged in neutral French oak and stainless-steel tanks for ten months prior to bottling. It's a beautiful wine, with plenty of Southern Rh?ne-like black cherry liqueur, garrigue, pepper, licorice and spice. It is medium to full-bodied, lusty and heady. This is a beauty to drink over the next 2-3 years.