Oxer Kuusu 2022

Oxer Bastegieta is a Basque grower who seeks out forgotten plots, and Kuusu is his project in Toro, in Castilla y León. The wine is built on Tinta de Toro, the local strain of Tempranillo, with a small share of the white grape Albillo co-fermented in to lift the aromatics. Toro is a hot, dry, high plateau, and its sandy and stony soils, some on ungrafted old vines, give wines of deep colour and ripe, dense fruit, while the wide swing between hot days and cold nights holds enough acidity for balance. Farming is organic. The wine spends 10 months in large foudres rather than small barrels, so the gentle oxygen exchange softens the firm Toro tannins while keeping the oak signature light and the fruit forward. The colour is dense purple-red. The nose shows black plum and blackberry over pepper, liquorice and a tobacco-leaf note, and the palate is full bodied and structured, with ripe tannins and a savoury, earthy finish. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees, decanted, with grilled red meat, slow-cooked lamb or aged cheese.