Los Frailes Rubificado 2023

Casa Los Frailes farms in the Vals dels Alforins, high ground in the south-west of the Valencia wine country, where the Velázquez family has worked the land since 1771. Rubificado takes its name from the rubified, iron rich soils that give the wine its deep colour, one of five soil types across the estate alongside dolomite and limestone. The grape is Garnacha Tintorera, a teinturier variety with red flesh as well as red skin, which yields naturally dark, fruit driven wines. Farming is organic. Rather than oak, the wine matures for ten months in cement tanks and clay amphorae, vessels that let it breathe without adding wood flavour, so the fruit and the stony character of the site stay in the foreground. At 14.5% alcohol it is ripe but fresh. It pours an intense violet red. The nose shows plum and red berries with black pepper, dried herbs and an earthy, mineral note. The palate is juicy and full, the tannins supple and the finish savoury. Serve at 16 degrees. It suits grilled and roasted red meats and hearty vegetable dishes.