Valenciso Rioja Reserva 2016 (6 Bottles) Rioja, Spain

$395.00 GST Included

AUSTRALIA WIDE SHIPPING INCLUDED

As always, Valenciso’s flagship Reserva is a selection of handpicked Tempranillo from the clay/limestone soils around Haro. The grapes are from 18 plots including Villalba, Rodezno, Briones and Ollauri. Part of what has been proposed as the Western Sonsierra zone (by Alberto Gil and Antonio Remesal Villar in their compelling new volume–Rioja: Vinos Silenciosos), Ollauri’s vineyards are noted for their excellent calcário soils, altitudes of up to 600 meters and Atlantic-influenced climate.All the vines are managed organically and cropped at well below the regional limits. The youngest vines that make the grade here are 60 years old!

The Reserva naturally fermented in cement vats and the wine was then aged for 19 months in (mostly) low-toast Radoux French oak barriques (roughly 20%). In recent vintages, 10% of the wine has also been raised in low-toast Caucasus oak, further lessening the wine’s already minimal wood influence. Following aging in barrel, the wine was transferred back to concrete vats to settle for a further 24 months before release. Luis and Carmen find the wine clarifies so well in concrete that there is no need to fine or filter the wine before bottling.

“Cooler vintages like 2014 are ideally suited to the Valenciso style, which always has one eye on longevity and bottle age. This refined Tempranillo comes from vineyards in Briones, Haro, Ollauri, Rodezno and Villalba and has an appealing combination of structure, depth and minerality, with fine 20% new oak integration and layers of bramble, raspberry and black cherry fruit.” 95 points, Tim Atkin, 2020 Rioja Special Report

“I tasted again the red 2014 Reserva, which seems to have integrated in bottle since I tasted it some 16 months ago. It’s a lighter expression of Valenciso that is developing more complex aromas, and the acidity and tannins are slowly being resolved. They say it’s the most modern among the classics and the most classic among modern Reservas. I agree. 110,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in the spring of 2019” 93 points. Luis Gutiérrez, The Wine Advocate

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Description

ABOUT VALENCISO WINERY

Valenciso (val-en-THEECE-oh) was founded for the 1998 vintage by Luis VALENtín and Carmen EnCISO (hence Valen-ciso), Rioja natives with extensive experience in producing quality Rioja wines. Their objective was to produce a single wine of the highest quality and authenticity, released as Reserva.

Only the best Tempranillo grapes are used, from mature, low-yielding vineyards. Of the available fruit from the grower-partners, only a small percentage is selected. Careful harvesting is timed to capture the intensity of the fruit, while avoiding over-ripeness or excessive alcohol levels. Aromatic volume rather than physical weight – in the manner of French Burgundy and the greatest Rioja Altas of the past – is the Valenciso ideal.

Valenciso’s impeccable sense of proportion demonstrates rare winemaking maturity. Perfect balance offers early accessibility, while the evident structure, fresh acidity and fruit intensity promise many years of positive bottle evolution. This is as close as Spain gets to the wines of Burgundy, pure mouth perfume.

It is at once classic Rioja Alta Reserva, yet somehow more polished, more alive, with the only innovation being the use of French as opposed to American oak. And, as always, the wine is better for it!

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