Valduero Dos Cotas Reserva 2018

Valduero Dos Cotas Reserva is a single-varietal Tinto Fino, the local Tempranillo, from D.O. Ribera del Duero. The family winery was founded in 1984 in the Burgos village of Gumiel del Mercado by Gregorio García Álvarez and is now run by his daughters Yolanda and Carolina, who farm 200 hectares of their own vines. Ribera del Duero sits high on the Castilian plateau, where a wide diurnal swing between hot days and cold nights ripens the Tinto Fino fully while preserving the firm acidity that gives these reds their backbone. The wine ages 30 months in a combination of French and American oak followed by 18 months in bottle. The two oaks are complementary: French wood adds fine-grained tannin and cedar, American adds vanilla and sweet spice, and the long bottle ageing settles the tannins before release. It is deep cherry red. The nose shows dark cherry, blackberry and ripe plum over vanilla, toast and a savoury earthiness. The palate is full bodied and structured, with ripe fruit, firm but rounded tannins and a long finish. Serve at 17 to 18 degrees, decanted, with roast or grilled red meat.