Red wines from Ribera del Duero

Castilian gold!

This imposing red comes from vineyards on superior plots of land that give the finished wine great complexity and at the same time appetizing freshness.

The Oro crianza spends fourteen months in French (70%) and American (30%) oak, which gives its dark fruit aromas layers of spice and toast and enhances the inky, peaty mineral notes supplied by the deep-rooted vines.

This is a powerful but balanced wine, with soft tannins and juicy persistence. Pure Tempranillo fruit means plenty of rounded fruit character, but the dark mineral depths play their part too.

A generous and structured Tempranillo from the popular Ribera del Duero region in north central Spain.

As well as direct, fruity aromas of blackberries and plums, there are evocative hints of warm caramel from the five months' oak ageing that makes this wine a roble and dark, inky scents too.

In the mouth, its flavours are full, fruity and lasting, with rounded tannins and a final flourish of that inky depth.

Concentrated and seductive Ribera exuding alluring notes of grilled meats, leather, raisins and figs, overlaid with spicy mocha, hazelnut and cedar. A huge amount going on in the glass! Potent, masculine and ageworthy.

Drink this very full-flavoured and powerful Spanish red either on its own as a vino da meditazione or else alongside special roast dinners or winter suppers featuring wild fowl or game.

NB HALF BOTTLES ONLY AVAILABLE

This is a terrific example of a very sociable Spanish 'young wine': not too full-bodied but with a hint of oak (roble), brisk tannins and concentrated flavours of mulberry, raspberry and clove from a blend of Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Drink with a plate of ham or tapas as though you were in Spain, or let its gentle oak flavours partner meat or vegetable dishes as a crowd-pleasing quaffer.

The Ribera del Duero region, which was awarded DO status in 1982, spans the upper valley of the river Duero. At some 800m above sea level, the growing season is relatively short, and frost is an ever-present threat in spring, though temperatures can soar in summer to a scorching 40 degrees Celsius.

The region's principal grape variety is Tinta del País (also known as Tinto Fino and, of course, Tempranillo) aided and abetted by Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and, occasionally, the white grape Albillo. Garnacha here is used for rosé.

Here's an advert from the Ribera del Duero promotion board encouraging us to visit the Peñafiel area and enjoy its wines. Even if that's not an option, a flavour of those sunny good times is just a sip away with every bottle of Carramimbre.