Finca Valdeolmos 2019

Finca Valdeolmos is a natural Ribera del Duero red from Goyo García Viadero, who broke away from the family winery Valduero to follow native grapes and traditional vineyard work. He restored old vineyards in Gumiel de Mercado and avoids herbicides and pesticides in the vines, and enzymes, non-native yeasts and added preservatives in the cellar, so the wine relies on its own indigenous yeasts to ferment. Ribera del Duero sits on the high Castilian plateau, where altitude brings a wide swing between hot days and cold nights that preserves acidity and aromatic detail in the Tempranillo, here known as Tinta del País. The ageing is 16 months in used French oak, chosen deliberately: older barrels add structure and a slow oxygen exchange without the heavy vanilla and tannin of new wood, keeping the focus on the fruit and the site. The wine is bright ruby, with red berries, cherry, plum, dried herbs and a clear earthy, savoury character. Light on its feet at 13.5 per cent, it is fresh and lightly grippy on the finish. Natural and vegan. Serve at 15 to 16 degrees. It suits lamb, beef and mushrooms.