{"product_id":"2020-ribera-del-duero-el-espino-aster","title":"Ribera del Duero, El Espino, Áster 2020","description":"\u003ch3\u003eHow it tastes\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eBlack fruit with liquorice, cardamom and a mineral thread, and hints of toffee and coffee from the barrel. Sleek and graceful rather than heavy, with vibrant acidity, fine tannins and a succulent finish. Tinta del País (Tempranillo) 100%.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe producer\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eÁster was created when the team behind La Rioja Alta went looking for a site in Ribera del Duero and found one at Anguix, in Burgos; the Tinta del País vines were planted in 1990 and the winery, which holds up to 4,000 French and American oak barrels, followed in 2000. El Espino is a selection from Finca Áster's own vines, an 87-hectare patchwork of plots with varying slopes, aspects and soils, hand-harvested at optimal ripeness on an estate that limits treatments, reuses water and has installed insect shelters to build biodiversity. The grapes were picked into 20-kilo boxes and optically sorted, cold-macerated for colour and aroma, then blended from three plots - El Espino, Fuentecojo and El Picón - with half taken through malolactic fermentation in stainless steel to soften the palate and half vinified in second-use French oak, before twelve months in French oak of which a fifth was new, two manual rackings, and a further four months in tank. The 2020 season began with an early bud break after mild weather, and a cool, wet start to summer that regulated yields and cut production; the warmth returned, and by October cold, dry conditions with wide day-to-night swings let the fruit ripen slowly, building concentration while holding on to freshness - a vintage officially classified as excellent.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eFood and drinking\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eServe at 16-18°C with roast lamb, grilled ribeye, duck breast or a mature hard cheese. Drinking well now and worth keeping another five or six years; an hour in a decanter opens it out. Suitable for vegetarians.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Áster","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":58476544000383,"sku":"HNW-5172720A","price":44.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0551\/4192\/4998\/files\/5172720A.jpg?v=1789923510","url":"https:\/\/www.edkawines.com\/products\/2020-ribera-del-duero-el-espino-aster","provider":"Edka Wines","version":"1.0","type":"link"}