Viña Sastre Crianza 2022

Viña Sastre Crianza comes from Bodegas Hermanos Sastre, a chateau style estate in La Horra, Burgos, deep in Ribera del Duero. It is a varietal Tinta del Pais, the local name for Tempranillo, drawn from vines of twenty to sixty years of age planted at around 800 metres on the slopes above Roa. That altitude is central to the wine: cold nights set against warm days slow ripening and lock in acidity and colour, so the fruit reaches full phenolic maturity while keeping freshness. The vineyards are farmed the traditional way, without mineral fertilisers, herbicides or insecticides, which favours older vines that crop low and give concentrated fruit. After maceration and fermentation the wine spends fourteen months in French and American oak, where slow oxygen exchange softens the tannins and adds spice and vanilla. The colour is deep ruby. The nose leads with ripe black plum and cherry over cedar, leather and a savoury earthiness. The palate is full and structured, with firm tannins, dark fruit and a long, oak framed finish typical of high altitude Ribera. Serve at 16 to 18 degrees, decanting an hour ahead, alongside roast lamb or aged sheep's cheese.