Finca Martelo

Rated Excellent, the vineyard benefited from optimal weather conditions throughout the growing season. Our grapes were healthy, with loose, well-aerated clusters, allowing us to wait for the perfect moment to harvest the grapes in Finca Martelo. This vintage delivers a wine that stands out for its bright colours, structure and silky mouthfeel, coupled with very good cellaring potential.

It comes from the eponymous vineyard in Torre de Oña, in the heart of Rioja Alavesa, with a natural diversity of varieties: 95% Tempranillo and 5% Mazuelo, Garnacha and some Viura. The vineyard is over 60 years old and lies at 630 metres elevation, with north-south exposure to the sun and wind, achieving a balanced ripening and excellent vegetative development.

On 15 October, we began to pick the selected grapes by hand into 20 kg crates. Once in the winery, they remained on refrigerated platforms. After destemming and light crushing, the fruit was cold soaked for five days at a temperature below 10⁰C to obtain a must with more intense aromas and colour. Once the alcoholic fermentation was completed, the wine spent 81 days in new American and French oak barrels, with weekly batonnage. It was then aged for 24 months in American (80%) and French (20%) oak barrels with four rackings using traditional methods. The wine spent eight months in tanks to round off the final blend, which was bottled in April 2022.

Intense ruby colour, with a bright, clean pink rim. Powerful fruit on the nose with an initial surge of wild strawberries, raspberries and blackberries, opening up to delicate spicy, peppery notes, cedar wood, liquorice and pastry. The palate is vibrant and elegant, expressing the terroir with freshness and intensity. Pleasant and long with a fleshy finish and hints of red fruit and spices.

The wine’s structure and elegance makes it an ideal food companion. Long in the mouth, it is perfect with braised and roasted meats, as well as game and cured sausages.