Cerro Negro 2022

Cerro Negro comes from Baldovar 923, a small project in the village of Alpuente high in the mountains of inland Valencia, working within D.O. Utiel-Requena. The fruit is single varietal Mencia from a plot at 980 metres, where the altitude and the wide gap between warm days and cold nights slow ripening and lock in acidity and aromatic lift. The vines are around twenty years old, grown both as bush vines and on trellis, farmed organically with minimal intervention and the work timed to the lunar cycle. At this elevation the grapes ripen at modest sugar, which is why the wine carries just 12% alcohol. Fermentation is followed by nine months in 500 litre French oak barrels, a large format that softens tannin and lends gentle spice without covering the fruit. The colour is bright ruby. The nose leads with wild red berries, cherry and violet over a cool, earthy minerality, with a faint herbal and peppery note. The palate is light to medium bodied, fresh and direct, with fine tannin and a stony, savoury finish. Serve at 15 to 16 degrees. It suits grilled fillet of beef, charcuterie and mushroom dishes.