Melida Wines, Parpados, Ribera del Duero 2021 - 75cl
This is the same wine as the 2020 Parpados, a vintage on, and the shift in the weather shows. Where 2020 was warm and generous, 2021 was cooler and more classical in Ribera del Duero, and the young Parpados answers with a lighter step. It is still Tempranillo off the high, chalky vineyards around Olmedillo de Roa, still handled gently in neutral and larger oak so the fruit does the talking.
Pour it and the first impression is texture, unusually silky for a wine at this price. There is intense red and dark cherry, then a lick of sweet spice, with coffee and gentle oak sitting in behind. The tannins are very fine and faintly chalky, the acidity fresh, and at 14% it feels vibrant rather than heavy. There is more structure here than the label price suggests, deftly oaked as one taster put it, and more precise than the riper 2020.
It drinks beautifully now, and while Parpados is not a wine you need to bury in the cellar, this fresher vintage has the balance to hold happily for another two or three years if you would rather. Either way, a short spell in the glass or a quick decant lets the fruit unfurl and the chalky edge soften into the cherry.
For a house's entry wine, this overdelivers. If you are stocking up for autumn, something to roast a chicken around or hand to a friend who thinks all Spanish red is heavy, the 2021 Parpados earns its place on the rack.
How to Serve
Serve at 16-17C, a touch cool. A brief 20-minute decant or a swirl in the glass opens the silky fruit. Ready to pour.
Where to Drink It
- Barrafina, Adelaide Street - a glass at the bar with jamon and gildas.
- Brindisa, Borough - order the presa and let this fresher Ribera do the rest.
- Sabor, Mayfair - the ground-floor bar is the spot for an unfussy young red.
Food Pairings
Roast chicken with romesco, or grilled chorizo and a hunk of Manchego.
