Beronia Mazuelo Reserva 2019

Mazuelo is the Rioja name for Carignan, a deeply coloured, high-acid and firmly tannic variety usually used to back up Tempranillo in long-ageing blends. Beronia, founded in 1973 in the Rioja Alta, has bottled it as a single-variety Reserva, which is unusual for the region. The grape's natural acidity and tannin give the wine its backbone and ageing potential, while the continental Rioja climate, with cold winters and warm dry summers, ripens the fruit and keeps freshness. The wine spends 28 months in French and American oak barrels. That long ageing and the slow oxygen exchange through the wood soften the firm tannin, fix the colour and build tertiary character, the American oak adding vanilla and coconut and the French oak finer spice. It pours deep ruby tending to garnet at the rim. The nose is dark plum and dried cherry with leather, tobacco and sweet spice. The palate is medium to full and structured, with savoury fruit, fresh acidity, firm tannin and a long finish. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees. It suits roast lamb and game.