This "Friends' wine" is the flagship of this family bodega, located in Corral de Almaguer.
It coiuld be sold under the La Mancha denomination, but owner Juan de la Barreda prefers to use the Tierra de Castilla label.
The wine is a blend of old Tempranillo grapes (here they call it Cencibel), from three different terroirs: La Desehilla, Monte Alto and El Convento, with some shiraz and cabernet from younger vines.
Vinification
The grapes are selected in the vineyard. Traditional maceration and fermentation in stainless steel, then 12 months of ageing in oak barrels (French oak, 75%, American oak, 25%)
Storage potential
Up tot 5 or 6 years after buying it.
To serve
Not too warm - around 18°C.
Trial analysis
Very deep color. Very open nose - ripe red fruit, soft spices, pepper.
Jucy, straighforward, fleshy on the palate. Nice fruity tannins with just a hint of wood notes. Shiraz and cabernet bring an more angular structure and some freshness in the blend, but it is still a very Mediterranean wine.