Dominio del Bendito El Titan del Bendito 2022

El Titan del Bendito is the flagship red from Dominio del Bendito, the project Antony Terry began in Toro, Zamora, in 2004, now farming 14.5 hectares organically in a traditional, low intervention style. It is made from Tinta de Toro, the local clone of Tempranillo, sourced from old vines. Toro is one of Spain's hottest and most extreme red wine zones, with sandy soils, very low rainfall and old, ungrafted bush vines that crop tiny quantities of small, thick skinned grapes. This concentration, combined with full ripening, drives the wine's deep colour, ripe fruit and 16.5 percent alcohol. The wine is aged twenty months in French oak barrels. The long elevage allows the powerful tannins to polymerise and soften through slow oxygen exchange, while the oak adds structure, spice and a savoury frame to the dense fruit. It is full bodied and intense, with blackberry and dark cherry, dark chocolate, liquorice, pepper and tobacco, carried on robust but ripe tannins and a long finish. Decant an hour ahead and serve at around 18C; it calls for rich roast and grilled meats.