Now made in Briones but sourced from San Vicente, this is José Gil's village wine, featuring grapes from the parcels of El Bardallo, La Canoca, La Concova and San Martín. Cement fermented and foudre-aged, it's youthful, scented and graceful, with pomegranate and wild strawberry fruit and a fresh, tangy finish. Drink 2024-29.
Youthful yet already expressive, with aromas of blackcurrant, strawberry and blackberry, dark chocolate, smoke and light hints of nutmeg. Densely layered with flavour and soft tannin, just waiting to unfold, yet feels remarkably light on its feet. Drink 2024-2032.
This is not Rioja as you know it. Jose Gil has eschewed new oak in favour of concrete and large foudres, uses whole bunch fermentation, and brings his wines in at modest (in this case 13.5%) alcohols given the climate of the region. The resulting wine is a brilliant, new wave style hinging on purity and impressive aromatics. Deep purple in the glass, the nose is expansive and intense, offering violets, cherry blossom and macerated strawberries together with a light graphite scent that makes this both vibrant and alluring. The palate still brings the solar nature of Rioja in the redolent brambly fruit at the core, but the acidity cuts through with real vibrancy. Wild strawberries and fresh red plums come with more of the floral, graphite-accented notes from the nose. The acidity and fine tannins bring a saline, lipsmacking quality to the finish, which is long and very promising. A wine that shows hints of dry Portuguese wines, Ribeira del Duero, ripe red Burgundy and the Mencias of Bierzo, but in its own, unique guise. Excellent value for money.
