La Linea Tempranillo 2018

The La Linea team are at the forefront of Tempranillo in Australia. Winemaker Peter Leske has been tinkering with Tempranillo since before the first La Linea vintage in 2007, ably assisted by David Lemire MW. And with increasing vine age, the La Linea wines are getting more of that savoury, rustic grunt that you find in the best Spanish Tempranillo.

I reckon this 2018 is a bit of a sleeper thanks to the hot vintage which is close to what you’d expect across Spain. It is deeply coloured and a bigger and bolder La Linea than usual, but the wine does not suffer. Sweet, powerful mulberry and black cherry primary fruits are lifted by tobacco leaf and spice with a sweet oak edge. The wine is then dry and mid-weight, with surprisingly juicy acidity. It has great impact on the palate with dense tannins and a long, ripe finish. It needs a bit of time to settle down and has ageing potential, with a good chance it will look a whole lot better in five years time.