Pago de los Capellanes Doroteo 2021

Pago de los Capellanes was founded in 1980 at Pedrosa de Duero, near Burgos, and farms more than 100 hectares of its own vineyards in the heart of Ribera del Duero. Doroteo is made from Tempranillo, the regional variety, grown on the high Castilian plateau where chalk and clay soils sit beneath vineyards more than 800 metres up. The wide diurnal swing between hot days and cold nights is the engine of the region: it ripens the fruit fully while preserving acidity and fixing the deep colour. This wine ages a long 36 months in 225 litre French oak barrels, an extended period in which slow oxygen exchange softens the firm tannin, integrates the fruit and adds cedar, cocoa, vanilla and tobacco. The colour is deep purple. The nose shows ripe black plum, cherry and liquorice over cocoa, sweet spice and tobacco. The palate is full and structured, with fine, firm tannin framing concentrated dark fruit and a long, savoury, oak-spiced finish built to age. Serve at 16 to 18C, decanting one to two hours ahead. It suits roast lamb, grilled beef and aged cheese.