80% Tempranillo — from Viñedo “El Monte”, Labastida, planted in 1975, old vineyard on hillside. Soil type: sandy and limestone loam. Old vineyard on hillside. 20% Graciano —– Finca ̈Alto del Rey ̈, planted in 1975. Soil type: gravel and sand. Vintage details: Excellent vintage, with a harvest delayed by the cold, excellent ripening.
Detail of the vintage : 2015 – VERY GOOD
Warm, Mediterranean vintage. The earliest and fastest in the history of Rioja. Homogeneous, since all the vineyards reached the optimum maturity at the same time. Low yields.
Good weather throughout the cycle, excellent vegetative and sanitary state of the vineyard, with absence of pests or diseases, allowed a correct ripening balance to be reached in all the vineyards, to which an exceptionally favorable month of September for quality contributed decisively.
Rainy winter, accumulating good water reserves for the summer. The strong heat of May (1st heat wave of the year), just before the espergura, made the branches grow exceptionally, although it also slowed down the work because there was more vegetative mass. Also the work was more complicated, because the temperature of the soil was quickly lost.
The rains collected (70 mm) around June 11 did not affect the flowering, since they occurred just after, being very beneficial.
Wines with an average alcohol content slightly higher than usual, very elegant tannins, with good structure for aging.
Viniculture:
Fermented at 26 °C after cold macerating for 2 days. Malolactic fermentation in barrels
