Montecastro 2023

Montecastro is a barrel-aged Tempranillo from D.O. Ribera del Duero in Castilla y León, made by Montecastro Bodega y Viñedos. The winery was founded in 2000 and, since 2012, has drawn on the technical team behind Hacienda Monasterio, the group linked to Peter Sisseck. Ribera del Duero sits on a high plateau where the wide diurnal range between hot days and cold nights preserves acidity and colour while the grapes ripen fully, the foundation of the region's deep, structured reds. The 2023 sees seventeen months in a mix of French and American oak, the French wood lending fine spice and the American adding rounder vanilla and coconut tones, with slow oxygen exchange softening the tannins across the long ageing. The wine is deep ruby, with a nose of ripe plum and cherry over a backdrop of toasty oak, liquorice and pepper. The palate is full and firmly built, with dark fruit, vanilla and an earthy, savoury finish framed by ripe tannin. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees and decant ahead of grilled red meats.