Arzuaga Gran Reserva 2020

Bodegas Arzuaga Navarro farms its estate at Quintanilla de Onésimo in Valladolid, in the heart of the Ribera del Duero. The appellation sits high along the Duero at around 800 metres, where intense summer sun and cold nights create a wide diurnal range that lets Tinto Fino, the local Tempranillo, ripen its tannin while keeping firm acidity. The fruit comes in part from old vines, low-yielding plots that concentrate flavour and lend a fine mineral grain, blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot for added structure and roundness. The wine ages an extended 40 months in French oak, a long maturation in which slow, steady oxygen ingress through the staves resolves the firm tannin, deepens the colour and develops the tertiary leather, tobacco and clove that define a Gran Reserva, alongside the cedar and vanilla of the barrel. The colour is deep garnet with a maturing edge. The nose shows ripe plum and black cherry over leather, tobacco, dried herbs and sweet oak spice. The palate is full and structured, with fine resolved tannin, balanced acidity and a long, complex finish. Serve at 17 to 18 degrees, decanting an hour ahead, with roast lamb or game.