Altún Everest 2023

Altun is a Rioja estate working in Rioja Alavesa, and Everest comes from a single Tempranillo vineyard planted on an exceptional plot. Tempranillo is the backbone of fine Rioja, suited to the Alavesa zone's calcareous clay soils and the Atlantic-influenced continental climate, where cool nights preserve acidity and the well-drained slopes concentrate the fruit. After fermentation on the skins to extract colour and tannin, the wine ages for around 14 months in oak barrels, where malolactic conversion and slow oxygen exchange soften the structure while the oak adds a vanilla and sweet-spice frame and the time builds a savoury, tertiary depth. The colour is deep cherry red with a garnet edge. The nose shows dark cherry and plum with black pepper, vanilla and a leathery, herbal note. The palate is full bodied and structured, with ripe dark fruit, firm but rounded tannins and a long, savoury, oak-spiced finish. Serve at 17 degrees and decant ahead. It is built for substantial roasted and grilled meat.