Monopole clásico Gran Reserva

Some years ago we rescued from the past our Monopole Clásico, produced the old fashioned way.

First vintage of this remake was 2014. Part of the fruit was harvested at our vineyard in Villalba de Rioja, vinified as the Monopole Clásico, and then aged in barrel for nearly five years.

A completely sui generis gran reserva.

The grapes come from our own vineyards in Villalba, a village at the foot of Obarenes mountains. The vines  are pruned on trellises for protection, due to the predominant wind on the plot. Altitude above 600 meters.

The plot is called  “La Plana”, meaning “flat”, but despite its name, the vineyard is planted on an east-facing slope. The vines are dry-farmed on predominantly free-draining sandy soils which cause a constant but gentle water stress in the vines. This in turn leads to low yields of loose bunches with small, concentrated berries.

All vineyard tasks including harvest are done manually.

Once the grapes achieved optimum ripeness, the bunches were picked by hand into small crates, this being done very early in the morning to take advantage of the coolest daily temperatures. The crates were then transported immediately to the winery where they were held in a refrigerated chamber for 24 hours to preserve aromas and avoid oxidation.

The yield of this vineyard is very low, resulting in the limited production volume of the wine. The grapes were pressed gently in a small pneumatic wine press and fermentation subsequently took place in used barrels of 300 litres and 2 “botas” of 500 litres.

The wine was then aged for five years in four used Rioja barrels and one even older “bota”. A small percentage of Manzanilla was added to complement the Viura.

The wine has not been clarified in order to reflect the methods of bygone times and where the long aging in barrel allowed the wine to fall bright and clarify naturally.

Spices, chamomile, dry flowers, dry apricots, lanolin and mushrooms (old cave). The palate is intense but light on its feet, very dry but with something that reminded me of the amazing 1939 Corona. Very original. Truly remarkable! 772 bottles of 0,75cl and 100 magnums produced.