A cool year (2012) from Rioja. Hail shaped the season — read it bottle-down below.
A healthy bud-break set the frame for the year; perfume began here, in the cold mornings.
A clean fruit-set filled the bunches; the body you taste was rationed out in June.
Veraison passed in balance; the alcohol reflects a year that neither rushed nor stalled.
A long, cool hang let acidity stay bright while tannin softened — the spine that will carry it.
Aromas of dark cherry, violet and a savoury, earthy edge; a full body carried by soft, rounded acidity and fine, supple tannin. Drinking well now through 2020.
Hand-harvested, wild-yeast fermentation in a mix of stainless and old oak; minimal handling, unfined where possible. Bottled with a light touch of sulphur.
2012 in Rioja: hail, a cool year overall (warmth index 49/100). The structure above is the readable consequence of exactly that weather — the descent shows you where each number was made.
Cellar at 12–14°C. Serve at 16–18°C; a short decant suffices.
Tasted exactly like the page promised — you can feel the hot August in the glass. Bought two more.
The season-descent sold me, and the bottle delivered. Brilliant length.
Beautiful now; I suspect even better in three years. Packed and delivered cold.
