Alma de Luzón 2021

Alma de Luzón is the top red of Bodegas Luzón in the DO Jumilla in Murcia, a blend led by Monastrell with Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. The fruit comes from estate vineyards over fifty years old at around 650 metres, picked by hand into small 10 to 15 kilogram boxes to keep the grapes intact. The altitude brings a wide day to night temperature swing that preserves acidity and aromatic freshness despite the hot, dry continental climate, while the old vines and the calcareous soils concentrate the fruit. The wine ages twenty two months in a mix of French and American oak barrels, a long maturation in which slow oxygen exchange through the staves builds a rich, rounded texture and adds vanilla, clove, toast and a sweet spice and coconut lift from the American oak. At fifteen percent alcohol this is a ripe, full bodied style. The colour is dense, almost opaque cherry. The nose shows ripe plum and black cherry, cracked pepper, liquorice and dark chocolate over warm oak. The palate is intense and powerful, with concentrated dark fruit, firm tannin and a long, spiced finish. Serve at 17 to 18 degrees, decanted, in a large glass.