Tros del Clos 2013 3000ml Doppel-Magnum

Deep black-red, with only minimal violet highlights toward the rim of the glass. A cool minerality defines this Carignan from nose to finish. It has plenty of fullness, yet it never feels heavy: acidity and tannin keep it upright.

The grapes come from the Clos del Portal estate near El Lloar and Bellmunt. Of the forty hectares between the Siurana valley and the Montsant mountains, only fourteen carry vines, the rest given over to olives, almonds and Mediterranean woodland. The Carignan vines root in black llicorella slate, ungrafted and nearly a hundred years old; phylloxera spared them because the soil was too poor and too steep. Alfredo Arribas, formerly an architect in Barcelona, farms organically and biodynamically and limits the yield to about one kilogram per vine.

Pure Carignan, known in Catalan as Cariñena. In the cellar, Juan Asens continues the estate's signature style: spontaneous fermentation with wild yeasts, short maceration, minimal sulphur, no new barriques. 14.5% vol., dry.

Stone and coolness at first, then, after extended aeration, blackberry, blueberry, rowanberry and cassis. Joined by intense herbal notes and the spices cardamom, juniper and sandalwood. The acidity lends freshness, the tannin is fine-grained, and the oak recedes entirely.

Venison in puff pastry with truffle and chestnut purée, lamb tajine with couscous and raisins, or, for a vegetarian option, a mushroom and root vegetable pie.

The double magnum holds 3000 ml. Anyone opening it now should decant without fail; the wine keeps gaining even after several days with the bottle open. Experience shows that these nearly hundred-year-old Carignan vines reward a few more years of bottle ageing beautifully.