Valtravieso Crianza Magnum 2022

Valtravieso Crianza comes from Valtravieso Bodegas y Viñedos in Piñel de Arriba, Valladolid, in the Ribera del Duero. The estate planted its first vines on the La Revilla site in 1985 and now owns more than seventy hectares, supplying most of its own fruit. The blend is Tinto Fino, the local strain of Tempranillo, with Merlot for flesh. Ribera del Duero sits on a high plateau where the wide gap between hot days and cold nights builds colour, tannin and acidity at once, while the calcareous and sandy soils restrain yields and concentrate the fruit. At 14.5 per cent this is a ripe, structured wine. Twelve months in used French oak round the tannins through slow oxygen exchange and add a measured frame of vanilla and spice without masking the fruit. This bottling is in magnum, a larger format that ages more slowly. The colour is deep, almost opaque purple. The nose shows black plum, cherry and dark chocolate over liquorice and pepper. The palate is full and firm, with grippy tannin and a long finish. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees, decanting ahead. It calls for grilled red meat and roast lamb.