Coto Real Reserva 2020

Coto Real Reserva is the work of El Coto de Rioja, made from Tempranillo grown on old, high-quality vines in Rioja Alta. The fruit is hand-picked into 350 kilo crates and sorted at the winery before fermentation, with maceration and alcoholic fermentation carried out in small 100-hectolitre stainless steel tanks using daily pump-overs and a long skin contact to draw out colour, tannin and flavour. The malolactic fermentation takes place in barrel, which converts sharp malic acid into softer lactic acid and knits the oak into the wine from the start. Rioja Alta sits at altitude with a cooler, Atlantic-influenced climate and clay-limestone soils, giving Tempranillo with fresh acidity and red-fruited finesse. The wine then ages twenty months in barrel and a further two years in bottle, so slow oxygen exchange and time develop tobacco, leather and dried fruit. The colour is deep cherry red. The nose is ripe cherry and red berry over vanilla, sweet spice, tobacco and a savoury, leathery note. The palate is medium to full bodied and rounded, with fine tannins, bright acidity and a long, spiced finish. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees. It pairs with roast lamb, grilled beef and aged cheese.