Bodegas Luis Pérez Garum 2024

Garum is a red from Bodegas Luis Pérez near Jerez de la Frontera, a project by oenologist Luis Pérez to bring red wine back to the chalk country of Cádiz. It blends Merlot, Syrah and Petit Verdot, each picked and handled separately to suit its ripening. The vineyards lie on the albariza chalk soils more often linked with Sherry, a bright, water-retaining base that reflects light and holds moisture deep down, which helps the vines through the hot, dry Andalusian summer while the proximity of the Atlantic and its Poniente wind brings cooling humidity. Farming is low intervention, with fertilising and treatments kept to a minimum. The wine ages twelve months in French and American oak. In this warm climate the grapes ripen fully, giving the wine its deep colour, ripe fruit and 14.7 percent alcohol. It pours an intense red. The nose shows ripe plum and dark berries with black pepper, dark chocolate, a smoky edge and vanilla from the oak, and the palate is full and warming, with rounded tannins and a savoury, earthy finish. Serve at 17 degrees, decanted. It suits grilled beef and lamb.