Alenza Gran Reserva 2018

Alenza Gran Reserva is a Tempranillo red from Condado de Haza in Roa, Burgos, within D.O. Ribera del Duero, part of the Familia Fernández Rivera group. The estate holds more than 200 hectares of Tempranillo above 800 metres on sandy loam soils, under a continental climate with around 400 mm of rainfall a year. That altitude and the wide diurnal range between hot days and cold nights give long, even ripening, building colour and tannin while holding the acidity that lets the wine age for years. As a Gran Reserva the 2018 spends twenty four months in American oak, which brings more vanilla, coconut and sweet spice than French oak, while the long, slow oxygen exchange softens the tannins and develops tertiary character. The colour is a mature cherry red with a garnet rim. The nose shows preserved dark fruit, fig and plum with vanilla, clove, tobacco and leather. The palate is full and rounded, the tannins soft and resolved, the finish long and savoury with sweet spice. Serve at 17 degrees and decant. It suits roast lamb, beef and aged cheese.