Torremilanos Crianza 2020

Torremilanos Crianza comes from Finca Torremilanos at Aranda de Duero in D.O. Ribera del Duero, made mostly from Tempranillo with a small share of Cabernet Sauvignon. The estate farms biodynamically, and its vineyards sit high on the Duero plateau at eight hundred to nine hundred metres, with an average vine age of around fifty years. The altitude is decisive here: hot days build ripeness and colour while sharply cooler nights preserve acidity and aromatic freshness, and the wide diurnal swing gives Ribera reds their characteristic depth and structure. The old vines, under an Atlantic-Mediterranean influence, yield small crops of concentrated fruit. The clusters are hand-picked in successive passes, and fermentation on skins extracts the dense colour and firm tannin. The wine then ages seventeen months in 225-litre French oak barrels, where steady oxygen exchange resolves the tannins and layers in cedar, vanilla and sweet spice. The 2020 is deep, near opaque ruby. The nose shows ripe dark plum, black cherry and liquorice over vanilla, tobacco and warm earth. The palate is full and structured, with firm, ripe tannin, fresh acidity and a long, savoury finish. Serve at 16 to 18C and decant an hour ahead. It suits roast and grilled red meat.