Sierra Cantabria Colección Privada 2021

A wine from the Eguren family and, to be precise, one from the range of wines known as Viñedos Sierra Cantabria, a collection of new classics for which Sierra Cantabria, with Marcos Eguren at the helm, is seeking to extract and meld the finest qualities of its fantastic vineyards with traditional Rioja expertise; a series which includes the exclusive El Bosque, Amancio, and this Colección Privada. The Sierra Cantabria Colección Privada is a wine that has been cherished from start to finish, from a meticulous selection of the bunches to its artisanal production methods, with endless fine details taken into consideration, such as type of bottle, label... The grapes, exclusively of the Tempranillo variety, come from vineyard estates over fifty years old, the Los Terreros and Jararte fincas, in San Vicente de la Sonsierra, and the wine is made in equal measures both traditionally, with destemmed bunches, and by means of carbonic maceration. Likewise in the ageing process, tradition is wisely combined with modern procedures: half of the wine is aged in French oak barrels and the other half in American oak barrels, all new, for a long maturation period of 16 months. It's a wine which swiftly enchants all those who try it, since it combines robustness and density, refinement and roundness, a wine that is subtle, pure, very fruity and succulent. Appearing a deep cherry colour in the glass, it is very expressive on the nose, and intense and concentrated on the palate, with creamy and toasty aromas integrating well with the fruitiness of that almost jammy fruit, picked when just slightly overripe. A structured, very fine Rioja wine, with rounded tannins and a ripe-fruit base which has admirably long length. In short, a wine with personality which manages to fuse like few others Rioja's wine history and its winery's modernity.