Cortijo de Jara 12 Meses 2013 15%, Cortijo de Jara

Appearance

Almost opaque blacky plummy red to youngish ruby rim.

Nose

Attractive aromas of ripe plums and cherries nicely balanced by restrained American oak. There is a slight balsamic note and a hint of spice, partly from the oak and a certain ripe jammy character from the ripeness and a little maturity, but it is fresh and characterful

Palate

The spice and oak are more evident now but not excessive giving plenty of upfront appeal followed by fresh fleshy ripe black fruits, vanilla, even a hint of toast. There is a refreshing and perfectly proportioned hint of acidity to balance the ripe fruit and fairly gentle tannin. After three and a half years or so in bottle it is pretty close to its ideal drinking moment.

Comments

Made from hand picked Tempranillo (roughly 50%, Merlot and Syrah (roughly 25% each) from a 15 hectare vineyard and aged for 12 months in American oak barrels in a picturesque old bodega which was the original house of the cortijo which is located a few miles northeast of Jerez. This is a go-ahead business run by the Garcia Angulo family which also produces white wine, olive oil and chickpeas among other things and has a car concessionaire business. This is the second release of the wine and it can only improve further as the 5 hectares of recently planted vines begin to age.
Price
8.50 euros ex bodega