Rafael Sastre 2024

Rafael Sastre is a varietal Tempranillo from Bodegas Hermanos Sastre in the Ribera del Duero, made from vineyards in La Horra and Roa on the slopes above the Douro at around 800 metres, where the vines run between 17 and 30 years of age. The climate here is severely continental, with summers above 40 degrees and winters that can fall to minus 15, and that extreme range concentrates colour and aroma in the thick skinned fruit while the cold nights preserve acidity. The vineyards are farmed sustainably, without herbicides, insecticides or mineral fertilisers, which keeps the soil and vine balance honest and the yields modest. After a careful sorting the wine is aged for ten months in a mix of French and American oak, where slow oxygen exchange knits the tannins together and adds vanilla and a warmer, coconut tinged spice from the American barrels. The wine shows a deep red colour, a nose of fresh red and dark berries with plum and sweet oak, and a juicy, medium to full palate with ripe tannins and a clean, spiced finish. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees, decanted, with roast lamb or grilled beef.