Entresuelos 2023

Entresuelos is a varietal red from Tinta de Toro, the regional name for Tempranillo, made by Bodegas Tridente in Villanueva de Campean near Zamora and bottled as VT Castilla y Leon. Tridente belongs to the Juan Gil family group and works more than thirty plots of old vines, some over a hundred years old, with this wine drawn from vineyards in El Pego and Villanueva de Campean. Old, low yielding vines on the sandy soils around the Duero concentrate flavour and give Tinta de Toro its characteristic depth and dark fruit. The hot, dry continental climate of the Toro country ripens the grape fully, while cool nights preserve freshness. The wine spends nine months in French oak barrels, where slow oxygen exchange rounds the tannins and adds spice and a measured frame. The 2023 shows a bright cherry red. The nose offers ripe cherry and plum with black pepper, liquorice and vanilla and toast from the oak. The palate is full at 14.5 percent, with firm but ripe tannins and a long savoury finish. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees, decanting briefly. Good with red meats and game.