Habla Nr 38 2022

Nr 38 belongs to Bodegas Habla's Numbers series, in which each number appears exactly once and is never repeated. The 2022 is a dry Tempranillo with dark berry fruit and spice, powerfully built yet clearly contoured.

The vines grow on slate soils near Trujillo, in the heart of Extremadura, where the estate farms 200 hectares. The soil is barren, the summers blazing hot, the winters bitterly cold. Only vines with deep, strong roots withstand this harshness, and it is from them that the grapes' concentration comes.

Single-varietal Tempranillo from the 2022 vintage. The bodega, designed by GAP Arquitectos, is half built into the ground and moves the grapes by gravity in the Roman tradition, handling them gently. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel, alongside rooms built from black slate and chestnut wood. The team behind the wines is led by winemakers Florent Dumeau from Bordeaux and Eduardo de José Prada.

Black cherry and blackberry, with black pepper and Mediterranean herbs. The tannins are fine-grained, the fruit juicy, and a mineral tension holds the fullness together. It finishes dry.

Grilled lamb, beef fillet, Iberico pork and aged Manchego. Mushroom ragout and dishes with smoked paprika also work well.

Juan Tirado and José Civantos spent eight years searching for the right terroir before founding the estate in Trujillo in 1999. The estate received the Extremadura Architecture Award for its 12,000-square-metre bodega with its weathering copper skin.