Dehesa La Granja Tinto 2007

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. Each year Fernández’s Zamora outpost (just outside the boundaries of the Toro region) releases this Estate wine with age. Imagine that this has been 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. Then look again at the price! 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 the best way), super complex, lovely drinking and a bargain to boot.