Intipalka Cabernet Sauvignon-Petit Verdot Reserva 2022

Intipalka is the fine wine label of the Queirolo family, a third-generation Italian dynasty at the centre of Peru's wine industry in the Ica valley, south of Lima. Ica is effectively a coastal desert, and the vines rely on irrigation from the Andes; the strong sunshine and warm days ripen Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot fully, while cool desert nights hold the acidity and colour. Both are late-ripening Bordeaux grapes, and the Petit Verdot adds depth of colour, firm tannin and a peppery lift to the blackcurrant frame of the Cabernet. After fermentation the wine spends eight months in French oak, where slow oxygen exchange through the staves softens the tannins and adds vanilla and a light cocoa tone. Expect a deep ruby colour, a nose of ripe plum, redcurrant and black pepper over cedar, and a full palate with grippy but ripe tannins and a savoury, oak-framed finish. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees, ideally decanted an hour ahead, alongside red meat.