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Bodegas Exopto Rioja Horizonte de Exopto (Ábalos) 2016
$38.99
6 Pack Buy
Out of stock
Description
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!
Last year’s Horizonte-a blend of 80% Tempranillo, 10% Garnacha and 10% Graciano-was drawn entirely from Ábalos, in the lee of the Sierra Cantabria ranges. As such, it was Exopto’s first stab at a ‘village’ wine (in the Burgundian sense of the word). Due to poor yields, this year’s bottling includes some Tempranillo from San Vicente, just a few kilometres west. The tiny village of Ábalos lies just a kilometre or so from the 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 Puyaubert’s most significant source, a position further cemented by the addition of his new parcels in La Mimbreram, Carrapeciña and El Hoyo. This is blended from a dozen old vine plots in Ábalos, plus a touch of the aforementioned San Vicente Tempranillo, this is surely the purest, most elegant and vibrant release under this label. The wine’s personality offers considerably more tension than the early releases which Tom credits not only to its cooler, rocky Ábalos roots but also to the move to 600 litre demi-muids and 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 more vibrancy and freshness from the limestone soils and altitude of the vines. Expect succulent, red and dark cherry and cola spiced fruit on the nose and palate, and waves of texture hemmed in by powdery tannins. Warmer vintage has produced a darker denser expression. Delicious !
93 points, Tim Atkin MW, 2019 Rioja Special Report “The red Horizonte uses fruit from the Sonsierra villages of Ábalos and San Vicente, marrying Tempranillo with 10% each of Garnacha and Graciano from a dozen different parcels. Dense and concentrated, with quite a bit of wood, this is a focused, refreshing red that needs more time.”
RRP $46 Special 6 pack Buy
Additional information
Producer | Bodegas Exopto |
---|---|
Region or Country | Rioja |
Vintage | 2016 |
Variety | Grenache and Blends, Tempranillo |
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