Bodegas Alejandro Fernandez El Vinculo La Mancha 2005

The 2005 El Vinculo (which means ‘the tie’ or ‘the bond’ in Spanish) closes the circle of Alejandro Fernandez’s great Tempranillo estates. It also serves as ample testimony to La Mancha’s ability to make world class wine. The 2005 El Vinculo is a deep, rich, highly aromatic wine with everything going for it. In the nose it offers up plenty to get excited about in the form of deep blackberry and currant flavors, tobacco, wood smoke and Asian spices. And in the mouth this wine positively explodes with the aroma’s entrancing flavors, all of which are graciously conveyed in a velvety texture backed by fine grained tannins. A combination of overt charm and subtle complexity, the 2005 El Vinculo reflects the greatness of the 2005 vintage and the virtue of old vines in the hands of a master craftsman. Enjoy this outstanding offering from La Mancha at cool room temperature (no more than 66°F) now and for the next five or more years. For optimal enjoyment we suggest allowing this wine to breathe in a decanter or glass for at least 15-20 minutes, but that is only if you have the patience to wait that long.

World class wine such as the 2005 El Vinculo deserves culinary accompaniments commensurate with its lofty stature. Consequently, we suggest serving this brilliant 100% Tempranillo wine with the finest cuts of meat or the most inspired country cooking. In a traditional vein, we recommend Veal with Black Olives and Capers or Duck Breasts served Spanish style in a pungent, roasted garlic sauce with sliced stuffed olives and assorted vegetables. Braised Onions and Short Ribs provide a tasty treat with this wine, too. Creamy cow’s milk cheeses also provide superb accompaniments to the 2005 El Vinculo. Both the wine and cheese complement one another and provide a fine finale to a special meal or dinner party. However, almost any noble fare will be enhanced by this regal red, so enjoy!

El Vinculo is the latest and last venture in great old vine Tempranillo from the legendary Alejandro Fernandez. Alejandro Fernandez personifies the mercurial 20th century Spanish experience. A family breadwinner from the age of thirteen, he has been a soldier, salesman, and master carpenter. After military service, he began working for an agricultural equipment firm, where he attained national success with the development of a revolutionary beet harvester. While toiling on the land with farmers and equipment, he harvested yearly his own grapes and made his own wine, all the while dreaming of the day he would establish his own commercial bodega for the production of Spain’s greatest red wine. In 1972, at a time when most growers in the Ribera del Duero were pulling up vines in favor of more lucrative crops, Alejandro and his wife, Esperanza, licensed Pesquera, their now famous Ribera del Duero bodega, which is lodged in a 16th century logar and press house. Today, Alejandro Fernandez is acknowledged as the unrivaled master of Spain’s greatest grape variety – Tempranillo. He has accomplished this feat by the selection of the ideal soils for the temperamental Tempranillo, great innovation in the cellar as well as in the vineyard, and an uncompromising desire to produce the best red wine in Spain. Since the founding of Pesquera, Bodegas Alejandro Fernandez has created three other fabulous Tempranillo properties. El Vinculo was established in 1999 near the village of Campo de Criptana in La Mancha’s Ciudad Real province. Alejandro first discovered La Mancha’s potential for world class Tempranillo when he came across an isolated stand of old vine Tempranillo growing amidst Campo de Criptana’s sea of white grapes. Realizing the potential of this isolated vineyard, Alejandro set his mind to producing the finest old vine Tempranillo in La Mancha. El Vinculo’s first vintage (1999) was released in 2001 to considerable acclaim. Today, El Vinculo reigns as the fourth jewel in Bodegas Alejandro Fernandez’s crown of great Tempranillo estates and is widely acknowledged to be the ultimate example of old vine Tempranillo in Castilla La Mancha. Alejandro Fernandez’s other great Tempranillo estates include Condado de Haza in Ribera del Duero and Dehesa La Granja in Zamora.