Baigorri de Garage 2019

Baigorri de Garage comes from Bodegas Baigorri in the Samaniego district of Rioja Alavesa. The name follows the garage wine idea that began in Bordeaux in the 1990s: tiny volumes from selected parcels. The fruit grows on micro-plots at around 650 metres, where calcareous clay soils hold water and reflect light, and the altitude widens the day to night temperature swing. That diurnal range slows ripening, so the Tempranillo keeps firm acidity while reaching full phenolic maturity at 14.5 per cent. The wine spends 22 months in French oak barrels, where slow oxygen exchange softens the tannin and adds vanilla, cedar and toast without masking the fruit. The colour is deep cherry red. The nose carries ripe black cherry and plum over tobacco, sweet spice and a graphite edge from the limestone. The palate is full and structured, with fine grained tannin, dark fruit and a savoury, mineral finish that holds for some time. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees and decant an hour ahead. It suits roast lamb, aged Manchego and grilled red meat.