Otazu Premium Cuvee 2022

Otazu is an estate in Navarra, in northern Spain, sitting where continental and Atlantic influences meet. This Premium Cuvée blends Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Tempranillo. The significant swing between warm days and cool nights, quoted at around 32 degrees down to 10, slows ripening and preserves aroma and acidity while the fruit gains depth, which shows in the concentration behind the 14.5% alcohol. The vines grow on permeable, salt free soils, and mulch is used to moderate yields naturally. The wine ages twelve months in French Allier oak, a fine grained wood that lends measured spice and vanilla and rounds the tannins through slow oxygen exchange. Cabernet Sauvignon supplies the structure and cassis, Merlot fills the mid palate, and Tempranillo adds a Spanish red fruited character. The colour is a deep ruby. The nose shows dark plum, red berry, vanilla and sweet oak spice, with tobacco and a cocoa edge. The palate is full bodied, with firm tannin, ripe fruit and a long, lightly toasted finish. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees and decant thirty minutes ahead. It calls for roast lamb, grilled beef or aged cheese.