Dominio del Bendito La Cuesta de las Musas 2019

La Cuesta de las Musas is made by Dominio del Bendito in D.O. Toro, the winery Antony Terryn set up in 2004 after working across many of the world's wine regions. It is built on the Tinta de Toro clone of Tempranillo, a thick skinned, small berried grape suited to Toro's hot, dry continental summers and poor soils. Those conditions concentrate sugar and colour, which is why the wine reaches 16% alcohol with deep pigment and ripe phenolics. The estate works 13 hectares of its own vines plus closely managed neighbouring plots, with low intervention in vineyard and cellar to keep the fruit expressive. Ageing runs to 22 months in French oak barrels, long enough to resolve the firm tannin and add cedar, vanilla and a savoury, leathery depth. The colour is dense, almost opaque purple. The nose shows black plum, blackberry, cocoa and sweet spice over liquorice and tobacco. The palate is full bodied and structured, with grippy but ripe tannin and a warming, long finish framed by oak. Serve at 17 to 18 degrees and decant an hour ahead. It calls for roast and grilled red meats and hard mature cheese.