Vía Cénit 2020

Viñas del Cénit farms in Villanueva de Campeán, a small village in the Tierra del Vino de Zamora in Castilla y León. The wine comes from Tempranillo vines roughly eighty to a hundred years old, planted on sandy soils over a chalky subsoil. Old vines of this age carry deep roots and naturally low yields, which concentrate flavour and give the wine its density. The high plateau brings hot dry summers and cold nights, a continental climate whose diurnal range builds colour and structure while holding acidity. The wine is aged fourteen months in oak barrels, where slow oxygen exchange through the wood firms the tannins and adds vanilla and a subtle spice while rounding the texture. At fifteen percent alcohol this is a powerful red. The colour is a deep cherry with a bright rim. The nose shows ripe black cherry, plum, liquorice and a savoury earthiness, with vanilla and sweet spice from the barrel. The palate is full bodied and broad, with firm tannins, dark fruit and a long warming finish. Serve at 17 to 18 degrees and decant for an hour. It calls for roast lamb or grilled red meat.