Lynus Alma Flor 2023

Lynus Viñedos y Bodegas was founded in 1999 to make single-pago Tempranillo in Ribera del Duero. Alma Flor comes from the Cachapuz pago, planted at roughly 860 metres on the high Castilian plateau. The altitude drives a wide diurnal range, with hot days ripening the fruit and cold nights holding back acidity, so the grapes reach full phenolic maturity while keeping freshness. Ribera Tempranillo, the local Tinto Fino, has thick skins that yield deep colour and substantial tannin, and the continental climate concentrates the fruit. The wine spends fifteen months in French and American oak. American oak lends vanilla and sweet spice, French oak a tighter grain and slower oxygen exchange that softens the tannins and adds structure. The colour is a clear cherry red. The nose carries ripe plum, black cherry and toasted wood, with liquorice and a savoury, earthy edge. The palate is full and structured, the oak spice folded into dark fruit, closing long with firm but ripe tannin. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees, ideally decanted an hour ahead. It suits roast lamb, grilled beef and aged Manchego.