Habla nº 36 2022

Bodegas Habla is the project of the Tirado family, working in Extremadura on the Spanish-Portuguese border, a continental region of scorching summers and cool nights. That wide diurnal range is central to this Syrah: hot days drive sugar and phenolic ripeness while cold nights preserve acidity and aromatic freshness, so the fruit ripens fully without losing line. Syrah suits the heat, giving deep colour and dark fruit with the grape's signature black pepper, which comes from the compound rotundone concentrated in cooler night air. The wine spends twelve months in oak barrels, where slow oxygen exchange softens the tannins and adds vanilla, sweet spice and a smoky frame, while the extended skin contact during fermentation extracts the colour and structure that carry the ageing. It pours a deep cherry red. The nose leads with cherry and plum over toasted oak, pepper and a savoury, leathery note; the palate is full and warming, with ripe dark fruit, firm but rounded tannins and a long, spiced finish. The wine is certified organic. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees, ideally decanted an hour ahead, alongside grilled red meat or game.