Finca Allende Mingortiz 2016

Finca Allende sits in Briones in Rioja Alta, where Miguel Ángel de Gregorio makes wines that combine the character of the Rioja terroir with a modern precision. Mingortiz comes from a single high-altitude plot of the same name planted to Tempranillo. Altitude and the cooler Rioja Alta climate slow ripening and preserve acidity, giving fruit that reaches full flavour while keeping freshness, and the clay-limestone soils lend a mineral backbone. Tempranillo here is picked ripe, reaching 15 percent alcohol, then aged sixteen months in French oak; the slow oxygen exchange through the barrel softens the tannins and marries the fruit with sweet spice, clove and cocoa rather than the coconut tone of American oak more traditional in the region. Expect a deep ruby colour, a nose of ripe blueberry and blackberry with sweet spice and mineral nuances, and a full, concentrated palate with fine, ripe tannins and a long savoury finish. This is a red built for the cellar as much as the table. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees, decanted ahead, with roast meat.