Aster el espino 2020 (La Rioja Alta)

Cellar for up to 10 years. Decant for an hour or more before serving. El Espino is a top-class Spanish red wine, harvested from old vines in Anguilla, a town within the Ribera del Duero DOC. It is made solely from Tempranillo and opens with a sumptuous bouquet of blue and black berries, star anise, minerality, and oak-infused hints of coffee, cigar smoke, and cocoa.

The Aster winery has been making wine in the province of Burgos for six generations, and well over 100 years. The fruits for El Espino were harvested from an area of 95 hectares, where the vines grow in clayish soils at 780 metres above sea level.

The vines were planted in 1991, after years of soil testing and consulting with local growers, to find the perfect location for Tempranillo. In the mouth, El Espino represents a fresh, youthful take on Tinto Fino, with strong notes of blueberry, plum, and blackberry.

In the background, you can detect hints of toffee and spice. Good levels of acidity bring a remarkable vibrancy, and its finely-grained, slightly sweet tannins persist into the long finish. Before bottling, it was aged for 12 months in French oak barrels.

Consider pairing it with roast chicken, tomato pasta, or a tuna steak.