An Outstanding Tempranillo From Toledo
Pinuaga Colección Tempranillo Vino de la Terra de Castillo 2018, 13.5% ABV,
€21.00 Stockists: Mary Pawle.
In 1960, the first generation of Pinuaga winemakers established the winery in the village of Corral de Almaguer, province of Toledo. They planted special old clones of Tempranillo called Cencibel with smaller grains, silky skin and longer ripening cycles.
It had been a favourite ever since with the winery. “It is the first that we make after the construction of the new winery and the one that many know as ‘El Pinuaga de toda la vida’ (translated by Google as El Pinuaga is the wine of a lifetime). "This is a very special wine for us as it is the first wine we made at Pinuaga and hence why we call it Colección.”
Mid ruby is the colour of this deep and intense organic wine. Aromas, dark red fruits (cherry) to the fore, are a little (just) on the shy side. It comes into its own on the palate, full of rich red fruit flavours, a touch of spice, smooth and rounded, and tannins well integrated. Rich concentrated and elegant, it is certainly rather special and is Very Highly Recommended.
Today, the second and third generation of the Pinuaga family, Valentin and Esther, maintain the old vines with much care and pride, following a minimal intervention philosophy, using natural and artisanal winemaking processes and recovering indigenous clones. The quality of the wines is driven by the characteristic of the soils, age of vines, grape variety and organic farming practices; all of these parameters are present in every wine, making them singular and unique.
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Altitude is a key factor here, as it is in much of Spain. According to the World Atlas of Wine, “a good 90% of all Spanish vineyards lie at altitudes higher than any major French wine region” and this, especially in Castilla y Leon, helps maintain acidity enough to keep the wines relatively fresh. The altitude benefit means “growers can depend on cool nights to ‘fix’ colour and flavour in the grapes ripened during the torrid summer days”.
The Pinuaga vineyard area is also really windy. The winemakers appreciate its benefits: “The vineyards are well aerated so it's a very healthy terroir. There is a lot of changes between the day and night temperatures too, which are very good for the ripening of the fruits.”
Pinuaga is situated close to the city of Toledo in central Spain, this is a huge wine-making region with more land under vine than the whole of Australia. The wines are now being imported to Ireland by Mary Pawle and, as is consistently the case with Mary, are keenly priced.
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Check out our Top 2023 Wines here.
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