Pasión Bobal 2021

Bobal is a widely grown, if not widely known Spanish red grape variety, whose home is the hot and dry vineyards of the Valencian interior. Historically it's gone into a lot of bulk wines, but in recent years a number of quality conscious producers have been keen to show what it can do when carefully looked after. Here Manuel Olmo of Bodega Sierra Norte uses old, low yielding vines from their high altitude Feunteseca estate, the fruit of which is fermented and aged for 6 months in barrel. The resulting wine has a lovely open nose with plenty of ripe blackberry and plum fruit, savoury hints and a note of vanilla. The palate is well-balanced with dark fruits, toasty oak, fine tannins and a generous and lifted finish. There's bags of wine for the money here. Big, but not heavy it's ideal to go with full-flavoured beef or lamb dishes, or with hard cheeses and charcuterie. Suitable for Vegans, Organic