Tarsus Reserva 2021

Tarsus is a Ribera del Duero estate in Castilla y Leon, and this Reserva is made from 98 percent Tinta del Pais, the regional name for Tempranillo, with 2 percent Cabernet Sauvignon. Ribera sits high on the northern Spanish plateau, where hot days and cold nights preserve acidity and slow ripening, and the chalky, sandy soils over limestone give the wine its backbone. The grapes macerate for 25 to 30 days at 28 to 30 degrees, a long contact time that extracts colour, tannin and dark fruit from the skins. The wine then spends 16 months in French oak, 80 percent, and American oak, 20 percent, where controlled oxygen exchange rounds the tannins and layers in vanilla and sweet spice, before a further 18 months resting in bottle that integrates and softens the whole. It pours deep ruby, with ripe plum, red berry and cocoa over clove, tobacco and toasty oak. The palate is full and structured, with fine-grained tannins and a savoury, persistent finish. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees, decanted before serving, with grilled red meat or a mushroom and beef stew.