DETAILS
- 75cl
- 14.50%
- Spain
- Rioja
- 2016
- Red, Richly Textured and Full-Bodied
- Tasting Note: Smooth, elegant Rioja, brimming with ripe cherries and other red fruit, the nose a sophisticated combination of spice, cocoa and a wisp of smoke.
- Food Matching: Beef, cured pork, Moroccan lamb with herbs and spices. Also aged sheep's cheese, barbecued sausages and grilled vegetables.
- Vineyard: Celebrating their 150th anniversary, Sierra Cantabria are steeped in not just history, but innovation. With such iconic projects under their belt as Numanthia and San Vicente, they have revolutionised Rioja and as such many people revere Marcos Eguren, winemaker, to be the finest Spain has to offer. The Sierra Cantabria Estate wines are their nod to the traditions of the region and all hail from the vineyards of Sonsierra de San Vicente. This zone is very well protected from the North and has a sloping landscape from Sierra Cantabria to the Ebro river, with very good South and South-West sun exposure, providing an accentuated and unique identity. With an average yield of 35hl/ha, the grapes are grown using a number of biodynamoc practices and are then hand harvested in small boxes when perfectly healthy and ripe. Further selection made in the winery using a sorting table under Marcos' meticulous eye.
- Vinification: Grapes are traditionally destemmed and fermentation is temperature-controlled between 26 and 28ºC with indigenous yeast selected from their own vineyards. Extended maceration on the skins for 24 days, starting with two daily pump-overs and then a light pump-over daily during the last ten days. The wine ages for 14.5 months in Bordeaux barrels of French and American oak.