El Vínculo Paraje la Golosa Gran Reserva 2019

Paraje la Golosa Gran Reserva is made by El Vinculo in Campo de Criptana in D.O. La Mancha, one of the four wineries of Familia Fernandez Rivera, the family behind Pesquera in Ribera del Duero. Housed in a traditional La Mancha building modernised in 1999, the winery draws on old Tempranillo vines on some of the best sites in the area to make small quantities of structured, ageworthy reds. La Mancha is a high, dry plateau with a continental climate of hot summers, cold winters and a wide day to night temperature swing; that diurnal range preserves acidity and colour in old vine fruit that ripens fully here to 14% alcohol. As a Gran Reserva the wine has long ageing behind it, 24 months in French oak barrels, which resolves the firm tannin, integrates the fruit and develops cedar, vanilla and a savoury, leathery depth, with bottle age adding further complexity. The colour is deep cherry red with a garnet rim. The nose shows black plum and red berries over liquorice, tobacco and leather. The palate is full bodied and structured, with ripe, fine tannin, fresh acidity and a long, mature finish. Serve at 17 to 18 degrees and decant an hour ahead. It suits roast red meat and hard aged cheese.