Tritón Tinta de Toro 2022

Tritón Tinta de Toro is a single-variety red from D.O. Toro, made within the Jorge Ordoñez project under oenologist Alistair Gardner. The vineyards sit at 800 metres on very sandy soils, a high-altitude, free-draining site where the wide difference between day and night temperatures keeps yields low and the fruit concentrated. Tinta de Toro is the local strain of Tempranillo, thicker skinned and more powerful than its Rioja cousin, giving deep colour and firm structure. The sandy soils here mean the vines were spared phylloxera, so many are old and ungrafted, and the continental climate ripens the grapes fully while the cool nights hold acidity. The wine ferments in stainless steel and then undergoes malolactic fermentation in French oak barrels, which converts the sharper malic acid into softer lactic acid and rounds the texture in barrel. It ages for a year before release, the oak adding spice and integrating the tannins through slow oxygen exchange. The colour is deep cherry, the nose offers ripe strawberry and cherry with dried herbs and oak spice. The palate is full bodied at 14.5 percent, with firm tannins, ripe fruit and a long savoury finish. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees and decant ahead. It suits roast and grilled red meat.