Quel Cepage

Dark berry red. Rock jam. Tobacco in a box. Spice in a jar. Match heads. Velvet and sandpaper. Alternating. Plush tight. Tons of meaty iron bits. Charming carbonic zings up those Tempranillo tannins. Huge and dark brooding fruit, but lively as all fuck. Even two days later, the last glass left on purpose, still kicks like a mule. Begs for dark chocolate, lomo Iberico.

85% Tempranillo, with a mix of Viura and Malvasia. Oops. White grapes. Wink. ;) Minimal interaction in the vineyard, certified organic. Processed in open concrete Lagares, or lagos. Lagoons might be the best English word. Big open vats. Under a cover of CO2, whole berries make 'the magic' as their website says. Carbonic maceration is really a theme in my life. A week of anaerobic fermentation, before pressing. Imagine that mess. #Slurk.

“Under a cover of CO2, whole berries make ‘the magic’”

Open top concrete tanks are traditional in Rioja, sometimes glass lined in the fancy bodegas. Starting off with a healthy dose of oxidation gives Grand Reservas their style, but it seems that carbonic fermentation has been classically used to produce young drinkable wines, often reserved for the families. The name means Herring in Basque. Maybe? Fishy.