Organic Laderas del Norte Ribera del Duero 2017

Laderas del Norte (meaning ‘North Slopes’) is an organic Tempranillo from the Arzuaga Navarro family’s Valdesardon estate, their most westerly vineyard in Ribera del Duero. This limited-edition wine marks a more natural approach for Arzuaga, but only 9,054 bottles were made, so getting hold of it isn’t easy. 2017 is the second vintage and it has been matured in French oak for a year so as not to overpower all that delicious raspberry, blackcurrant and strawberry flavour. Delicate violet aromas greet you on nosing this red, followed by layers of juicy fruit, velvety balsamic, pencil lead and caramel on the palate, plus a black cherry yoghurt creaminess from the malolactic fermentation. A versatile and attractive wine, we’d recommend this for everything from a Sunday roast with the family to a barbeque with friends, or even a romantic dinner for two.

Bodegas Arzuaga Navarro is a Spanish classic located in Quintanilla de Onésimo, at the very heart of the Ribera del Duero Denominación de Origen. Although only established in the 1990s, this family-run business has rapidly become one of the most prestigious wineries in the world-famous region. Their luxuriously large estate weighs in at an impressive 1,400 hectares, however there’s only 210 hectares of vines on it. That’s because the Arzuaga family believe they should coexist with nature, allowing the pines, oaks, juniper, olive trees, wild boar and deer to thrive on the remainder.