Viña Pomal Reserva 106 Barricas 2020

Viña Pomal Reserva 106 Barricas is a Rioja Reserva from Bodegas Bilbaínas, blending Tempranillo with Garnacha and Graciano. The grapes come from a vineyard barely two kilometres from the winery, beside the Ebro at Haro, the historic heart of Rioja Alta. Proximity allows the fruit to reach the cellar quickly after picking, which protects against premature oxidation. The estate carries varied soils and exposures, and the cool Atlantic influence of the upper Ebro valley gives a long growing season that preserves acidity and builds the fine tannin a Reserva needs. The wine ages twenty months in French and American oak followed by twenty four months in bottle. The American oak adds vanilla and coconut, the French finer spice, while the long combined ageing allows slow oxygen exchange that resolves the tannins and develops the leather, tobacco and dried fruit of a mature classic Rioja. The colour is cherry red with a garnet rim. The nose shows red cherry and plum with vanilla, sweet tobacco and leather. The palate is medium to full bodied, balanced and supple, the tannins softened by bottle age into a long, savoury finish. Serve at 17 degrees with roast lamb or aged cheese.