Bodega Los Toneles, Tonel 46 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2011

Bodega Toneles’ Tonel 46 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is a real blockbuster: intensely coloured and bursting with generous blackcurrant fruit. At its core the wine is dark and brooding, with ripe yet firm tannins and a lift of natural acidity that keeps everything beautifully in balance. Subtle layers of toasty French oak bring hints of liquorice, clove and pepper, adding further complexity.

The fruit comes from Toneles’ high-altitude vineyards in La Consulta (1,020m) and Vista Flores (1,150m), where the poor, free-draining soils yield grapes of remarkable concentration. Cabernet from the two sites was co-fermented at cool temperatures to capture its most aromatic expressions, before spending nine months in new French oak to achieve a seamless harmony of wood and fruit.