Bodegas Tridente Rejón Tempranillo 2021

Rejón comes from Bodegas Tridente in Villanueva de Campeán, around 30 kilometres from Zamora, a small winery within the Juan Gil Bodegas Familiares group. The fruit is Tempranillo from a vineyard over 130 years old in the municipality of El Pego, farmed across more than 40 plots, many of great age. This is a borderland of Castilla y León near Toro, a harsh continental zone of hot dry summers and cold nights on sandy, stony soils. The very old, ungrafted vines yield tiny quantities of small, deeply coloured berries, which gives the wine its concentration and grip. The pronounced day-to-night swing preserves acidity and lifts the dark fruit. Ageing runs to 20 months in oak, where extended barrel time resolves the firm tannins through slow oxygen exchange and adds tobacco, coffee and a sweet spice depth. The wine is dense and near opaque, showing dark plum, blackberry and liquorice with cocoa, vanilla and a savoury tobacco edge. It is full and powerful at 15 per cent, the tannins firm but ripe, the finish long. Serve at 17 to 18 degrees and decant well. It suits grilled red meat, roast lamb and mature hard cheese.