Tempranillo/Cabernet/Merlot, Ars Nova, Tandem 2018
Tim Atkin MW 95 (2025); Wine Enthusiast 92; Guia Penin 90; James Suckling 89
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Why this wine
Navarra sits between Rioja and Bordeaux in both geography and grape mix, and Ars Nova draws on all of it in one blend. Two years in concrete before nine months in French oak build the texture without burying the fruit. A generous, oak-framed red with real savoury detail.
At a glance
- Grape
- Tempranillo 40%, Cabernet Sauvignon 40%, Merlot 20%
- Region
- Navarra, Spain
- Alcohol
- 14.50%
- Body
- Full
- Acidity
- Medium
- Tannins
- Medium
- Sweetness
- Dry
- Drink
- Short (3-5 yrs)
- Pairs with
- Red Meat, Barbecue, Cheese
How it tastes
Ripe black fruit with mocha and spicy vanilla from the barrel, and savoury notes of black olive and roasted red chilli underneath. Full-bodied and warm, with moderate acidity and fine, well-covered tannins carrying the length. Tempranillo 40%, Cabernet Sauvignon 40%, Merlot 20%.
The producer
Tandem is the work of José Maria Fraile and Alicia Eyaralar, two of the leading figures of the Navarra wine scene; in 2019 the estate was certified vegan and accredited with the European Vegetarian Union's 'V label'. The vines lie in the heart of the Yerri Valley, recognised as the region's best area for quality wine, dry-farmed and Guyot-trained on clay loam soils and green-harvested for lower yields, with treatments limited to sulphur and copper and picking carried out in the coolest hours of the day. Fermentation ran at a controlled 28°C with slow extraction by cap submersion and no pumping, after which the wine was racked by gravity into concrete vats for malolactic conversion and natural clarification by decanting; it was neither cold-stabilised nor fined, and spent a minimum of 24 months in concrete followed by nine months in 300-litre French oak barrels.
Food and drinking
Serve at 16-18°C. Good with roast lamb, ribeye off the grill, chorizo-spiked stews and aged Manchego. Drinking well now and over the next three to five years; give it half an hour in a decanter. Sealed with a screwcap. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans.