Tinto Pesquera Reserva 2020 75cl

This is the wine that made Alejandro Fernández a legend, in an accessible everyday guise. The Pesquera Reserva is Ribera del Duero at its most honest: pure Tempranillo, properly aged, and priced so you can actually drink it on a Tuesday rather than saving it for a birthday.

Tinto Pesquera sits in Pesquera de Duero, at the heart of Ribera del Duero on Spain's high central plateau. The altitude and the fierce swing between hot days and cold nights give the Tinto Fino, as Tempranillo is known here, its concentration and its firm backbone. The Reserva sees extended ageing in oak before release, in the classical Spanish mould that Fernández helped define.

The nose is generous with ripe blackberry and plum, layered with vanilla, coconut, sweet spice and a savoury note of leather and dried herbs. The palate is full-bodied and structured, with ripe dark fruit, firm but rounded tannins and a warming, spiced finish. Time in oak shows as texture and complexity rather than sawdust. It drinks with the poise of something dearer.

At around £36 this is genuinely excellent value for a Reserva from a name of this standing. It is drinking beautifully now, especially with a decant, and will hold and improve for another five years or so. A cellar staple that never disappoints.

How to Serve

Serve at 16–18°C in a large red wine glass. An hour in a decanter opens it up nicely.

Where to Drink It

Barrafina serves Spanish reds with real feeling. Camino King's Cross is an easy, happy home for it. Morito on Exmouth Market suits it well.

Food Pairings

A natural with grilled lamb chops. Also lovely with a plate of chorizo and aged cheese.