Bodegas Exopto Rioja Horizonte de Exopto (Ábalos) 2018 (6 Bottles) Rioja, Spain

by Fine Wine Cellars

$256.00 GST Included

AUSTRALIA WIDE SHIPPING INCLUDED

Bodegas Exopto is one of the new wave of modern winegrowers and quality wine makers in Rioja – Outstanding, well tended, cool vineyards on rocky soils, very old vines and low yields (the total opposite to the trend of mass produced, American oaked wine of the region).

Passionate artisan winemaker, Tom Puyaubert (in fact a Frenchman who married an Espanola!) is fanatical in his focus on their vineyard: 50-100 year old Tempranillo and 70 year old Garnacha vineyard located in Rioja Alavesa (600 metres altitude and the coolest in Rioja). He uses French oak and is producing small quantities of top quality vino (3000 cases – miniscule production for Rioja). No doubt about it Exopto is a Riojan star in the making!

The blend of 80% Tempranillo, 10% Garnacha and 10% Graciano is drawn entirely from Ábalos, in the lee of the Sierra Cantabria ranges. Everything is co-fermented, so it’s really a field blend from various parcels. This tiny village is just a kilometre or so from Rioja Alta’s border with Rioja Alavesa. Forming a small pocket between the River Ebro and the Basque Mountains to the north, the rocky terroir of this area is most similar to nearby Alavesa–the soils are rich in limestone, the climate is cooler and the altitude even higher than most of the Alta area. Ábalos has always been Tom Puyaubert’s most significant source, a position further cemented by the addition of his new parcels in La Mimbrera, Carrapeciña and El Hoyo.
This wine is blended from a dozen old-vine plots, and the wine’s personality offers considerably more tension than the early Horizonte releases. Tom credits this not only to the wine’s cooler, rocky Ábalos roots, but also to the 600-litre demi-muids now in use alongside less new oak (now only 20% and falling). Fermented naturally in cement vats, the wine underwent a short, post-ferment maceration of one week. Then, half of the wine was matured in 600-litre demi-muids and the rest in barriques for one year. It’s a richer, deeper and more structured Rioja than the Bozeto of course, yet there is also good vibrancy and freshness from the limestone soils and altitude of the vines. The 2018, which sees no new oak and more higher-altitude fruit than previous vintages, is a spicy, vibrant, punchy style, showing oodles of red and dark cherry fruit, peppery spice and a streak of earthy minerals.

93 points, Luis Guiterrez, The Wine Advocate “… There is a lot of depth and nuance here: there is fruit, ripe without excess, spice, aromatic herbs and a touch of licorice and earth. The palate is medium-bodied and reveals great balance, powerful but elegant, quite classical and with all that it needs to develop nicely in bottle in this cooler year.”

93 points, James Suckling, Jamessuckling.com “Aromas of blackberries, blueberries, violets and lavender follow through to a medium to full body, with firm, linear tannins and a clean, bright finish. A little tight now, but nicely crafted. Drink or hold.”

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REVIEWS

“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

TASTING NOTES
Rioja is a happening place. A new generation of growers and wine makers who have moved on from stylistic debates and got down to the business of making the finest Rioja possible from their respective zones. We already work with one of the finest of the ‘new wave’ producers in Valenciso who produce a prestige, single vineyard wine from Rioja Alta, that is matured exclusively in French oak (and is all the better for it). Yet we have long felt that we had room in the portfolio for a value priced Rioja producer if only we could find one that truly moved us. So when a good friend (and renowned Spanish wine writer) suggested we might take a little peek at Bodegas Exopto we quickly made contact.

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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