Goru 18M 2020

Goru 18M comes from Ego Bodegas, a few kilometres from the historic centre of Jumilla in Murcia, where the winery farms 25 hectares of its own vineyards. Most are planted with the local Monastrell, ungrafted and around 50 years old, with Cabernet Sauvignon adding structure. Jumilla sits high and dry under a continental climate with hot days and cool nights, and the poor, low-vigour soils keep yields small and concentration high. That diurnal swing slows ripening enough to hold acidity in a place where alcohol runs to 15 per cent. The wine spends 18 months in French oak barrels, where slow oxygen exchange softens the firm Monastrell tannins and folds in cedar, vanilla and clove. The colour is deep and opaque. The nose leads with ripe plum and blackberry, liquorice and black pepper, with leather and dark chocolate from barrel ageing. The palate is full and warming, dense in fruit but framed by Cabernet structure and a savoury, slightly mineral close. Serve at 17 to 18 degrees, decanting an hour ahead, and pour it with roast lamb, grilled beef or aged Manchego.