Let's talk little, let's talk wine
This cuvée comes from the heights of Labastida, in Rioja Alavesa, in the north-west of the DOCa Rioja. The bush-trained vines grow on north-east-facing slopes at around 580 metres above sea level. They draw their character from soils combining sand, limestone marls and limestone, under the cooling influence of the Cantabrian mountains.
Part of the harvest (40%) is handled as whole bunches trodden by foot, the rest being destemmed without crushing. Fermentation takes place in concrete tanks for around ten days, followed by some thirty days of maceration and then malolactic fermentation. The wine is aged for 24 months in 500-litre foudres before resting a further 6 months in bottle, without fining or filtration.
This wine reveals notes of black cherry, raspberry, plum, violet, thyme, wild herbs, black pepper, clove, cocoa, cedar and damp stone. The palate combines broad, savoury fruit with well-defined freshness; the fine yet present tannins frame a long, saline and spicy finish.
Where are we traveling?
Rioja
Rioja is today Spain's most famous wine region. Its northernmost vineyards lie in the neighbouring regions of Navarre and the Basque Country. The region is defined by geographical features: the Ebro river and the Cantabrian mountain ranges. These mountains, which run along the north and west of Rioja, provide shelter from the cold, damp influences of the Atlantic Ocean, giving it a warmer and drier climate than the north. Rioja can be divided into 3 zones: → Rioja Alta is the western part of Rioja. As its name suggests, the vineyards are located at higher altitudes. The soils contain more clay, iron and alluvial elements and less limestone than those of the neighbouring Alavesa region. The wines tend to be regarded as elegant, with balanced acidity. → Rioja Alavesa consists of two distinct enclaves of land adjacent to Rioja Alta. Although both lie within the Rioja zone, they are not part of La Rioja but rather of the Basque province of Álava. The vineyards are located at altitudes similar to those of Rioja Alta, and the macroclimate is similar. The soils tend to be more calcareous than in Rioja Alta and the wines can show greater acidity. → Rioja Oriental (formerly Rioja Baja) is the eastern part of the Rioja zone. The climate there is much more strongly influenced by the Mediterranean. Drier and warmer than the other two regions, it gives Garnacha greater prominence. The wines can be noticeably fuller-bodied than those of the other sub-regions. Most of the region lies south of the Ebro, in the region of La Rioja. However, in the eastern zone, the Rioja vineyards north of the river actually lie within the political boundaries of Navarre.
The little history of the country
Espagne
The history of wine in Spain is so ancient that no one really knows who brought the first vines to the region. When the Phoenicians arrived some 3,000 years ago and founded the present-day cities of Cádiz and Jerez, winegrowing was well established, and Spanish wines were widely traded throughout the Mediterranean and North Africa. You could say that Spain is a winegrowing miracle. After years on the sidelines of the fine wine world, it is now a major player. Investment and ambition in the vineyards and wineries are producing increasingly rich, complex (often very high in alcohol) and spicy reds that are more and more popular with international consumers. Proud to have more land under vine than any other country, Spain is only just beginning to capitalise on this resource consistently. Spain is an anarchic tangle of regions and sub-regions, just as its landscape is an anarchic tangle of incredibly rugged scenery. A glance at a map reveals the climatic diversity between Spain's many wine regions, from the green, rain-soaked vineyards of Galicia on the northern Atlantic coast to the sun-baked vineyards of the Mediterranean south-east. Spain's saving grace, as far as viticulture is concerned, is the average altitude of its vineyards, over 600 metres. Much of Spain's vineyard land therefore manages to produce grapes with good colour and acidity simply because night-time temperatures are relatively low and the grapes do not ripen until the end of a sufficiently long growing season. But there is real treasure to be found for those willing to dig, and now that a class of connoisseurs has developed in Spain, all kinds of ambitious investors have done their part to change the image of Spanish wine. Today a new generation of winemakers has quietly begun to craft spectacular wines and to experiment with grape varieties that would have been unthinkable until recently. Wine remains an important commodity and an integral part of Spanish culture.