Bodegas Exopto El Espinal de Exopto 2021 (6 Bottles) Rioja, Spain

by Fine Wine Cellars

$480.00 GST Included

AUSTRALIA WIDE SHIPPING INCLUDED

El Espinal was the first label under Tom Puyaubert’s Colección Miguel Angel Mato. Mato, a native of San Vicente de la Sonsierra, is the seasoned grower who does all the work, cultivating by mule in some of Exopto’s principal vineyards. He also owns several old vineyards high on the slopes of the Sierra Cantabria, including El Espinal.

The plot name Espinal references the pine trees on the exposed slopes of the Sierra Cantabria in San Vicente, which have always been a part of this high-country landscape. At 650 metres, El Espinal is getting on for serious altitude in the context of Rioja.

This site—a 0.3-hectare limestone/clay vineyard—is planted to bush vines of the extremely rare Maturana Tinta vine, a re-emerging variety in Rioja. After trying to farm Grenache and Tempranillo at this cool, late-ripening vineyard, Puyaubert and its owner, Miguel Angel Mato, turned to this rare variety. The Wine Grapes bible classifies it as Trousseau; however, Puyaubert tells us that this is not the case and that these vines are, in fact, Castets, a now almost extinct French variety that was once grown in some quantity in the Bordeaux area (and is related to Cabernet Franc).

Another atypical facet of this cuvée is Puyaubert’s use of vinification intégrale, whereby the fruit fermented in closed, 600-litre French oak barrels, which are rolled several times a day. There are no pumpovers, no plunging—just rolling, which results in infusion rather than extraction. Following fermentation and pressing, the juice is racked back into these same casks for 15 months before bottling.

The result is unlike anything you may have tasted from Rioja before. Picked a whole month after Exopto’s Ábalos vineyards, the inviting dark purple, almost inky hue draws you in before layers of complexity stream from the glass: waves of dark fruit, nettles and scrub and the pine needle/green peppercorn note so commonly found in the wines from this site.

Then you get waves of moreish mid-palate freshness, lifted chalky tannins and lip-smacking acidity. Like an outstanding Loire Cab Franc, yet with perhaps more flesh, it’s a superb and unique red from Rioja’s high country. As one taster put it: Yum.

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About Bodegas Exopto

“Frenchman Tom Puyaubert is nowadays producing better wines than ever. Always humble and down to earth, he is focusing more and more on the vineyards (yeah!)… In the winery he is settling with 600-liter demi-muids, and the oak feels better integrated in the wines, respecting the character of the different vineyards.” Luis Gutiérrez, The Wine Advocate

Initially we requested samples and were subsequently floored by the wines (and the prices). When we visited Bodegas Exopto the quality all made sense. All the key ingredients were there: outstanding, cool vineyards on rocky soils, very old vines, low yields, a terrific little winery replete with new cement tanks and large format oak, small production (yes, at these prices!) and a passionate winemaker/owner (Tom Puyaubert)who clearly understands the universal principals of high quality wine. Tom is in fact a Frenchman who married a local girl which may explain the atypical, artisanal approach that is found at Exopto.

Visiting Exopto reminds us of visiting a small Burgundian producer. The emphasis was very much on the vineyards while the small scale production (around 7,000 cases, tiny for Rioja) and attention to detail was equally impressive. These factors have resulted in Exopto producing modern Rioja in the very best sense – i.e., Rioja that is the result of well-tended vineyards and quality wine making. Rioja that takes the best from the past (Graciano for example and use of concrete tanks & large format oak, etc.) and discards what did not work. Nuestro amigo was right; Exopto is a Riojan star in the making and we have no hesitation in adding them to our Spanish portfolio.

Exopto’s old vine holdings surround the town of Abalos at an altitude of 600-plus metres in the Rioja Alta district. Of the three districts in Rioja (Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Baja), Rioja Alta is the coolest and has the highest rainfall. Exopto’s Tempranillo vines are between 50-100 years old, Garnacha (Grenache) is 70 years old and Graciano, 30 years old. Soils here are clay and limestone over a sandy, rocky base and ripening very late. Only French oak is used in the ageing process.

The entry level Bozeto is a blend of 50% Garnacha, 30% Tempranillo and 20% Graciano, partially tank-aged to highlight its bright fruit. Horizonte, made from predominantly Tempranillo from Abalos in Rioja Alta is a stylish modern Rioja, branded by old vine/low yield authenticity. The top wine, simply called Exopto, is an atypical blend of 60% Graciano and is made in tiny volumes and only in the finest years.

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