2019 Carrodilla Tempranillo

Grape Varietal: Tempranillo

The Wine: La Carrodilla’s 2019 Tempranillo is a powerful, deeply expressive red from Valle de Guadalupe, showing just how compelling Tempranillo can be in northern Baja. Made from 100% estate-grown Tempranillo, it opens with a bold, aromatic profile of black cherry, cigar box, roasted tomato, and wood smoke, then carries that intensity onto the palate with impressive structure, freshness, and length. This is a wine with real amplitude, but also finesse — generous and full-bodied without losing its shape.

What makes this bottle especially distinctive is the setting behind it. La Carrodilla, founded in 2009 by Fernando Pérez Castro, farms one of Mexico’s pioneering certified organic and biodynamic estates, with vineyards in Valle de Guadalupe about 10 miles from the Pacific at roughly 950–1000 feet of elevation. The estate’s monovarietal wines are made from estate fruit, and the Tempranillo is shaped by decomposed granite and clay soils as well as the guidance of Gustavo González, whose résumé includes major international winemaking experience.

Fermented in stainless steel with skins and seeds for three weeks, then aged for 12 months in first- and second-use French oak, the wine combines fruit depth with savory complexity and a firm architectural frame. It is a Tempranillo that feels both polished and distinctive — a serious red with a strong sense of place, and one of the more compelling expressions of modern Mexican wine.

Pairing: Grilled meats, slow-braised dishes, mole, or aged cheeses. It has the structure to stand up to richer food and the character to hold attention all on its own.