Las Viñas de Eusebio 2020

Las Viñas de Eusebio is made by Olivier Riviere, a French winemaker who trained in Bordeaux and at Domaine Leroy in Burgundy before moving to Logroño to work with Telmo Rodríguez. From 2012 he began buying small plots of his own, and this Rioja is pure Tempranillo grown on the clay and limestone soils of the region. Those soils hold water through the dry growing season and give Tempranillo its balance of red fruit and firm acidity, while old vine material adds concentration. Fermentation uses native yeast and the wine is aged sixteen months in French oak. That longer ageing, with slow oxygen exchange through the wood, softens the tannin and adds tobacco, cedar and spice, while malolactic fermentation rounds the texture into a classic Rioja frame. The colour is medium ruby with a garnet edge. The nose shows cherry and plum over tobacco, leather and dried herbs. The palate is medium to full bodied, savoury and balanced, with supple tannin, bright acidity and a long, earthy finish. Serve at 17 degrees, decanted if young. It is a natural match for roast lamb and grilled pork.