2023 Tim Adams 'Ladera' Tempranillo

As the principal variety of the world-renowned wines of Rioja, Tempranillo has long been the backbone of the Spanish red-wine industry. We discovered two important things many years ago: that drinking these wines 
from Rioja could be a wonderful experience and that the variety itself is well suited to the Clare Valley’s growing conditions and terroir.  On an exploratory trip to Spain to meet the winemakers and taste wines in 
Rioja, Tim met Isaac Muga, who decided to join us to work in Clare for vintage 2004. That same year, we planted 6.5 hectares of Tempranillo on a dry grown site just to the east of the winery. We named this unique site 
‘Ladera’, Spanish for ‘slope’ or ‘hillside’ as it has a very valuable and beautiful steep easterly aspect. 
This wine demonstrates the definitive Tempranillo characters of strawberry and cherry, in harmony with clove and cinnamon spice derived from 24 months ageing in new French and seasoned oak hogsheads.  Made with a strong influence of the greatest Old-World Tempranillos examples, the palate is juicy and savoury. Vintage 2023 was cooler than average for the Clare Valley, but the longer ripening season led to higher flavour concentration and intensity.

Winemaking 

Dry-grown Clare Valley Tempranillo was fermented on skins for 23 days and 
then pressed, with all pressings being returned to the blend for structure 
and complexity. The wine spent 24 months in new and seasoned French 
oak barrels prior to blending and bottling. We recommend decanting 
before serving.