Dehesa La Granja Tinto 2007 (6 Bottles) Spanish Red

AUSTRALIA WIDE SHIPPING INCLUDED

Mature, ready-to-drink wines of this quality and price are obviously incredibly rare these days. Then again, Alejandro Fernández–the Magnus of Pesquera–has always been a mañana kind of guy. For those more familiar with Fernández’s wines via his Ribera del Duero Estates: Pesquera and Condado de Haza–Dehesa La Granja is his Zamora outpost. Purchased in 1998, the ranch (which also produces olive oil, cheese and chickpeas) is sited on the Guareña River, at altitude, lying just outside the boundaries of the Toro region.

Each year there is the Estate wine that is released with age. It’s crafted from 100% ungrafted, ‘old-clone’ Tempranillo and has been aged for 24 months in barrel, then another decade or so in bottle, slowly maturing in the Estate’s labyrinthine, 18th century cellars. Suffice to say this is entering peak drinking. It’s a succulently ripe, fleshy, meaty wine with black cherry, vanilla, cola, earth and leather aromas and flavours; a fine, powdery structure and a fresh, vibrant finish. Really old school (in a good way), lovely drinking and a bargain to boot. If you want squeaky clean, simple and modern, don’t look here. This is for those who crave character and earthy complexity and bottle development. By the way, like the wines, the D.O. is a bit of a mouthful–Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León.

“Low and slow winemaking here… Serious feeling tempranillo. Has that curious and kind of appealing scent of an old campfire then fig and date dried fruits, a splash of ripe currants. Flavours are tilting right into the savoury, secondary developed zone but there’s fresh acidity underlying and the wine has a brightness amongst the dusty spice and chewy oak character. Indeed, the soft finish and licks of dark berry fruit are very appealing, and a Chinese five spice note hits a high. It’s savoury as all get out, rippling with fine ribbons of tannin. Quite lovely in its zone.” 91 Points, Mike Bennie, winefront.com.au