Angelitos Negros 2022

Angelitos Negros is a red from the D.O. Toro in Castilla y Leon, made by Vinos y Vinedos de La Casa Maguila entirely from Tinta de Toro, the thick skinned local strain of Tempranillo. The fruit comes from vineyards between 20 and 40 years old, four fifths of them traditional low bush vines and the rest trained on trellises. Toro sits on a high, continental plateau where hot summers and cold nights ripen the grapes fully while the sandy soils, which spared many vines from phylloxera, keep yields low and the fruit concentrated. The winemaking is traditional and aims to keep the fruitiness and fresh acidity of the vineyard. The wine spent six months in French and American oak followed by nine months in bottle, a measured maturation that rounds the tannin without masking the fruit. The colour is deep and saturated. The nose leads with ripe blackberry and plum, a little toasted oak and dried herb, while the palate is full bodied and dense, with firm tannin and a savoury, spiced finish. Serve at 17 degrees and decant young bottles. It works well with grilled red meat and hard cheese.