El Goru Verde 2024

El Goru Verde is an organic Monastrell from Ego Bodegas, just outside the town of Jumilla in Murcia. The grapes come from the winery's own vineyards, planted to the indigenous Monastrell on ungrafted vines that average around fifty years of age. Old, low yielding vines like these concentrate fruit and give depth, while Jumilla's hot, dry Mediterranean climate and stony soils ripen Monastrell fully, building the colour, body and high alcohol the grape is known for. The wine sees only two months in oak barrel, a deliberately short ageing that lets the wood round the texture and add a light spice without covering the variety's ripe, dark character. The result is a deeply coloured red, dense ruby with a purple rim. The nose leads with ripe plum and liquorice over darker berry fruit, with a peppery, faintly smoky edge. The palate is full and warm, fruit driven and generous at 14.5 per cent, with grippy but ripe tannins and an earthy, savoury close typical of Monastrell. This is a bold, modern style made for the table rather than the cellar. Serve at 16 to 17 degrees with grilled and stewed meats, and decant briefly to open the fruit.