Pago de los Capellanes El Nogal Magnum 2021

Pago de los Capellanes El Nogal is a Tempranillo from Pago de los Capellanes in D.O. Ribera del Duero, an estate at Pedrosa del Duero whose name recalls the medieval chaplains who once farmed the land in exchange for Mass. This bottling is a magnum, the larger format that ages more slowly because the wine to air ratio at the cork is lower, favouring a longer life in the cellar. Ribera del Duero's high plateau brings a harsh continental climate of cold winters and hot summers, with sharp day to night temperature swings that ripen the Tempranillo while preserving acidity and colour. The wine is aged for 22 months in French oak barrels, a long maturation in which slow oxygen exchange through the wood rounds the tannins and adds cedar, vanilla, toast and fine spice, French oak keeping the profile tighter and more savoury than American. The result is a full bodied, structured red with dark cherry, blackberry and plum, liquorice, cedar and spice, on firm, polished tannins and a long finish. It has the depth to cellar for years. Serve at 17 to 18C and decant for an hour. It calls for roast and grilled red meat.