Dominio del Soto Reserva 2019

Dominio del Soto Reserva is made in the D.O. Ribera del Duero, in Castilla y Leon, from Tempranillo. Ribera del Duero lies on a high plateau where poor limestone and clay soils and a harsh continental climate, with hot days and cold nights, ripen the thick-skinned grapes while keeping the acidity and tannin needed for long ageing. At fourteen and a half per cent the wine carries the ripeness the region's late, warm autumns allow. It ages for twenty-four months in oak barrels followed by twelve months in bottle, a long maturation in which slow oxygen exchange in barrel softens and knits the tannins and adds cocoa, vanilla and spice, while bottle ageing rounds the wine before release. The colour is deep and concentrated. The nose is expressive, with blackberry and currant lifted by oak-derived cocoa and vanilla, and a savoury tobacco edge. The palate is full bodied and richly concentrated, with firm, ripe tannins, dark fruit and a long, spiced finish. Serve at 17 to 18 degrees and decant for an hour. It suits grilled and roast red meat and hard cheese.