Briego Fiel Edición Limitada 2018

Briego Fiel Edición Limitada is made by the Briego winery in Ribera del Duero from pure Tempranillo, the grape known locally as Tinta del País. All the fruit comes from a single vineyard, La Nava, at 900 metres above sea level near Fompedraza in Valladolid. Altitude is central to Ribera del Duero: hot days drive ripeness while cold nights preserve acidity and colour, a wide diurnal swing that gives the wine both power and freshness. The soils of clay and limestone over chalk drain well and add a firm, mineral backbone. This is a signature bottling from selected old vines, with low yields concentrating the fruit. The wine is aged twenty months in French oak, a long élevage that adds structure, spice and fine tannin through slow oxygen exchange, while malolactic fermentation rounds the texture. The colour is deep, near opaque purple. The nose shows ripe blackberry and plum with liquorice, cedar, dark spice and a graphite note. The palate is full bodied and structured, with firm tannin, bright acidity and a long, savoury finish that will soften with cellaring. Serve at 17 degrees and decant an hour or two ahead. It is built for roast and grilled red meats.