F de Fuentespina 2021

F de Fuentespina is a red wine from D.O. Ribera del Duero in Castilla y León, made by the Fuentespina winery from Tinto Fino, the local name for Tempranillo. The fruit is drawn from some of the oldest vineyards in the appellation, and the wine is only produced in the strongest vintages. Ribera del Duero sits on a high plateau where hot days and cold nights create a wide diurnal range, ripening the thick skinned Tinto Fino fully while preserving acidity, which gives these wines their depth, colour and firm tannin. The fruit is fermented on its skins to build structure and colour, then the wine is aged eighteen months in French oak from Allier and Nevers, the slow oxygen exchange rounding the tannins and adding vanilla, cocoa and spice. It is dark and dense, the nose led by ripe plum and black cherry with cocoa, liquorice and tobacco from the barrel, the palate full bodied and structured with ripe but firm tannin and a long, spiced finish. Serve at 17 to 18 degrees and decant an hour ahead. It suits grilled and roast red meats and game.