It began with very favourable weather, with magnificent canopy development and great condition until veraison, pointing to a top-quality vintage. Adverse weather prior to harvest forced us to carry out intensive vineyard tasks to make sure that the grapes would ripen properly. Strict selection accompanied by manual harvesting ensured we had clusters in top condition to make our wines, with a good balance between alcohol content and polyphenols, allowing us to produce top quality wines with good structure, determining factors in our decision to produce the second vintage of this Gran Reserva.
The basic grape variety is Tempranillo (94%) from Las Cuevas, El Palo and Las Monjas vineyards in Rodezno complemented with 6% Graciano from the Montecillo estate in Fuenmayor.
We started the grape harvest with the Tempranillo and, 20 days later, we picked the Graciano in Montecillo. All the grapes were placed in small boxes and taken to the winery in refrigerated transport to preserve their integrity. Alcoholic fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks, lasting 19 days. After malolactic fermentation, in April 2015, we selected a number of wines that were transferred to American oak barrels (made in-house) with an average age of 4.5 years. They remained in barrels for three years, with a traditional racking every six months. In April 2018, we made the last blend, which we bottled in June 2018.
Lively, clean, medium depth, garnet–red with an incipient pink rim. Intense aromas with outstanding notes of redcurrants, raspberries, wild blackberries and ripe red plums creating a complex bouquet together with the balsamic notes from the barrel: vanilla, cloves, coffee, caramel and brioche. Very tasty in the mouth, evincing the brand’s distinctive classic texture. Fresh, vibrant and well-balanced, with amiable sweet tannins. Its long stay in the bottle rewards us with that great complexity and elegance typical of this style of Rioja wines. To enjoy now, but with a long life ahead.
Particularly recommended with all kinds of meats, stews, seasoned fish, and desserts with chocolate couverture or red berries. Perfect as an after-dinner drink.
