Pepe Mendoza Casa Agrícola Viña El Veneno 2024

Viña El Veneno comes from Casa Agrícola, the Alicante project of winegrower and oenologist Pepe Mendoza and his wife Pepa Agulló, who set out to express the native character of the denomination through sustainable, low-intervention farming. The wine is a single-variety Monastrell, the variety best suited to the warm Mediterranean climate of inland Alicante, where hot days and the moderating influence of altitude and sea breezes allow the thick-skinned grapes to ripen fully while retaining freshness. The poor local soils restrict yields and concentrate the fruit. After fermentation the wine spends three months in 500-litre French oak barrels, a short ageing in large-format wood that rounds the tannins and adds breadth without imposing oak flavour, keeping the focus on the fruit and the place. In the glass it is deep and saturated, with ripe plum and dark berry fruit on the nose lifted by black pepper, liquorice and a scrubland note of thyme and dried herbs. The palate is full bodied and warming, with ripe, supple tannins and a long, savoury finish. Sustainably farmed. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees with grilled and roasted meats.