Punto de Fuga Corral del Mate 2019

Proyecto Zorzal is the family winery the Sanz brothers founded in Navarra in 2007, following the path Antonio Sanz set when he began making his own wines here in 1989. Their focus is single-plot bottlings that read the character of each site, and Corral del Mate is a varietal Garnacha Tinta grown under sustainable farming. Navarra sits where the Ebro basin meets the cooler foothills, and the wide day-to-night temperature swing through the growing season holds acidity and keeps the aromatics fresh rather than jammy. The wine spends eighteen months in large 500-litre French oak barrels, a format whose lower ratio of wood surface to wine gives gentle oxygen exchange and rounds the tannins without stacking on obvious oak flavour. It pours a bright medium red. The nose leads with raspberry and redcurrant lifted by dark cherry, dried herbs and a fine thread of black pepper and spice, and the palate is silky and moderate in weight, carried by soft tannin and a savoury, faintly earthy finish. Serve at 15 to 16 degrees. It suits roast chicken, grilled pork and mushroom dishes.