Finca Azaya Premium 2020

Finca Azaya Premium is made by Bodegas Valduero from Tempranillo grown on an estate in the Toro region of Castilla y León, where vines over forty years old grow on poor, sun-baked soils. Toro is a hot, dry, high-altitude zone, and old low-yielding Tempranillo here, the local Tinta de Toro, builds deep colour, ripe tannin and concentration. The continental climate, with intense daytime heat and sharply cooler nights, ripens the fruit fully while the diurnal swing keeps acidity in balance. The grapes are picked by hand and selected cluster by cluster, then given a cold pre-fermentation maceration to draw colour and aroma from the skins before fermentation. The wine spends 22 months in oak barrels followed by time in bottle, the long oak ageing softening and polymerising the tannins through slow oxygen exchange while adding spice, cedar and vanilla. It pours an intense purple, almost black at the core. The nose is enveloping, with ripe black plum and cassis over cocoa, tobacco and toasty oak. The palate is full bodied and structured, with firm ripe tannins, balanced acidity and a long, spiced finish. Serve at 17 to 18 degrees and decant well ahead. It suits roast and grilled red meat.