Dominio de Atauta Llanos del Almendro 2019

Llanos del Almendro is one of Dominio de Atauta's three single vineyard wines from the Valle de Atauta in Soria, a high, easterly pocket of Ribera del Duero defined above all by the richness and variety of its soils. Winemaker Jaime Suarez built this cuvee to reflect a single plot within that mosaic, planted to old Tinto Fino on a terroir more than five centuries into its winemaking tradition. The altitude and severe continental climate bring a wide day to night swing that locks in acidity, colour and aromatic precision, while the old, low yielding vines concentrate the fruit and hold alcohol to fourteen and a half percent. The wine is farmed organically. After fermentation it ages eighteen months in oak, which softens the firm tannins, stabilises colour through slow oxidation and adds spice in support of the fruit. The colour is intense red, the nose layering dark fruits such as blackberry and plum over cocoa, earth, tobacco and liquorice. The palate is full and structured, the tannins fine grained, with a long, mineral, savoury finish. Serve at sixteen to eighteen degrees and decant; it pairs with roasted and braised red meats.