Abel Mendoza, Selección Personal, DOCa Rioja, Spain, 2022

Producer Profile

Modest, passionate and in no small part obsessive, Abel Mendoza and Maite Fernández have been making understated wines from their old-vine vineyards, high up in the Cantabrian mountains near San Vicente de la Sonsierra, since the late 1980s.

Abel’s intimate knowledge of the diverse terroirs in this spectacular part of Rioja is enthralling, and every barrel tasted reveals the startling provenance and true character of the vintage. Abel doesn’t make wines that flatter. They don’t speak of oak regimes, but rather of the quality of his fruit, expressed in its most honest form.

For two generations Abel Mendoza's family has been farming vineyards in Rioja, and today works 37 individual parcel, scattered in and around the village of San Vicente de la Sonsierra (towards the border of Rioja Alta and Alavesa). More than anything in the world, Abel cares for his vineyards, each plot tended to enable an authentic expression of the location, and harvested entirely by hand. The grapes planted are all indigenous varietals, including Malvasia, Viura, Tempranillo Blanco and Tinto and Graciano.

Winemaking

Fermentation is made in steel tanks and after the malolactic fermentation the wine is matured in new french barrels for 13 months.

Tasting Note

A very classy and compelling wine. Deeply coloured with a pure, intense bouquet of crushed fruits, spice and oak. Elegant oak ageing enhances the wine’s complexity and class.

Food matching

White meat, Ibérico ham, pork sausage, pasta with tomato sauce and mushrooms.