Bodegas Menade Clandestino 2017

Country: Spain
Region: Rueda
Varietal(s): 100% Tempranillo
Bottled without any Sulphur
Alcohol: 14%
Serving Temperature:: 14 Degree

Variety: 100% Tempranillo / Farmed organically and from low yield bush vines that are roughly 90 years old. Made only in truly choice vintages.

Harvesting: By hand.

Fermentation: Maceration and alcoholic fermentation are effected in small stainless steel tanks: a process that takes between 12 and 25days. Subsequent malolactic fermentation is spontaneous –ie. neither forced nor encouraged - on the basis of naturally occurring yeasts and bacteria. We do indulge in a little, gentle cap-plunging/punching but not much as we’re not fans of over- extraction and this is a robust and very savoury grapevariety.

Stabilization: We neither clarify nor filter. The wine is simply left to settle and decant naturally. No Sulphur is employed.

Colour: Intense purple with elements of violet.

Nose: An abundance of black fruit, in particular blackcurrants. With aeration, multiple notes of different red fruits emerge too.

Palate: Fresh and imposing with a rich, ripe core of immediate black fruit but a nice overlay of red fruit and an alluring subtext of dried fruits – in particular dates. Big but rounded and with balance, its tannins are friendly. Long too, with an attractive mineral tang.