El Serbal Paraje la Santa 2023

Vinos El Serbal is the project of Adrián Alonso, an agri-food engineer from Burgos who returned to Castilla y León to work old vineyards by hand. Paraje la Santa is a single-site bottling built on Tempranillo and Garnacha, with a small fraction of white varieties co-fermented in the Mediterranean tradition. The high continental plateau of inland Spain gives warm days and cold nights, and that wide diurnal swing slows ripening so the fruit holds its acidity and firm tannin while the skins gain colour and depth. Vinification follows a natural approach with minimal intervention and native yeasts, and the wine spends 13 months in barrel, where slow oxygen exchange through the staves softens the tannins and adds a fine grain of spice without masking the fruit. The colour is deep ruby. The nose leads with ripe blackberry and plum over dried herbs, liquorice and a savoury, earthy note that reflects the site. The palate is medium to full, with red and black berry fruit, firm structure and a long, faintly peppery finish. Serve at 16 to 17 degrees, decanting an hour ahead. It suits roast lamb, grilled beef and aged Manchego.