Cepa 21 Horcajo 2020

Cepa 21 is a modern Ribera del Duero winery built around Tinto Fino, the local clone of Tempranillo. The vineyards sit on the high Castilian plateau, where chalk and clay soils retain water through hot, dry summers and the wide gap between daytime heat and cold nights slows ripening. That diurnal swing fixes colour and acidity in the skins while the grapes reach full phenolic ripeness, which here pushes alcohol to 15%. The wine spends 18 months in French oak barrels, where slow oxygen exchange through the staves softens the tannins and adds vanilla, cocoa and toasted spice to the dark fruit. The colour is deep purple. The nose leads with ripe plum, black cherry and liquorice over cedar and cocoa. The palate is full and structured, with firm but ripe tannins carrying flavours of black fruit, vanilla and a savoury mineral edge into a long, warming finish. Serve at 16 to 18C, decanting an hour ahead to open the fruit. It suits roast lamb, grilled beef and aged Manchego.