Terra D’Uro ‘Uro’ 2021

Uro is a red from the D.O. Toro made by Hacienda Terra d'Uro, the project of three oenologists working with Tinta de Toro, the local strain of Tempranillo. The fruit comes from small plots totalling around seven hectares, with vines ranging from fifteen to over a hundred and forty years old, some of them ungrafted survivors from before phylloxera. Toro is a hot, dry, high plateau where the continental climate and intense sun ripen the thick skinned Tinta de Toro fully, building deep colour, ripe tannins and high concentration, while the sandy soils that allowed old vines to escape phylloxera give the wine a finer, more aromatic frame. The old vines crop tiny amounts of intensely flavoured fruit. The wine ages twenty months in French oak barrels, where extended oxygen exchange through the wood polishes the powerful tannins and adds spice, toast and depth while the fruit holds its concentration. The colour is a dense, deep red. The nose shows ripe dark fruit, plum, liquorice and a smoky, chocolate edge. The palate is full and powerful, with concentrated fruit, firm ripe tannins and a long, warming finish. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees and decant well ahead. It suits roast lamb, beef and game.