Pago de Valdoneje Viñas Viejas 2017

Description

From the oldest vineyard in this small family estate, these centurion Mencía vines produce the most outstanding wine.

There’s only around 6,000 bottles of this made each vintage, the beauty and rarity of old vineyards. Grapes are hand harvested and sorted prior to fermentation, with ageing for up to a year in new French oak barrels.

Dark and intense crimson red in colour, this smells of spice and earth, cassis, prune and tar mixing it up with leather, pencil shavings and burnt scrub, smokey herbal aromas wafting over sweet fruit drying in the sun. Rich and concentrated, dried black fruits laced with fruitcake spices, framed by firm but silky tannins, and a refreshing, finely balanced piquancy to the finish, it’s magnificent.

Serve this up with something that takes ages to cook, beef brisket or slow-roasted shoulder of pork.