Carmelo Rodero TSM 2021

Carmelo Rodero TSM is a red from D.O. Ribera del Duero made by Bodegas Rodero, founded in 1990 from the family's old vineyards in Castilla y Leon. It blends Tinta del Pais with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from vines over 40 years old, the Cabernet adding structure and cassis and the Merlot a rounder, plummy flesh. The vines grow on the high Duero plateau, where a wide diurnal range and poor limestone and gravel soils give small, thick-skinned berries with deep colour and ripe tannin. Fermentation is done in the traditional way, with close monitoring of phenolic compounds and temperature to manage the extraction. The wine then ages 18 months in French oak in a Reserva style, which polishes the tannins and adds cocoa, vanilla and a fine woodspice. It pours deep, near-opaque purple, with black cherry, plum and blackcurrant on the nose over cocoa, tobacco and pepper. The palate is full and dense, with firm, fine-grained tannin and a long oak-spiced finish. Serve at 17 degrees, decanted an hour ahead. It suits grilled and roast red meats.