Bodegas Luis Cañas, Finca El Palacio, DOCa Rioja Alavesa, Spain, 2018

Producer Profile

Bodegas Luis Cañas has been at the heart of Rioja since 1928. This Estate has played an enormous role in shaping the Alavesa’s – and Rioja’s – modern incarnation.

Comprised of some of the region’s best and highest altitude vineyards, the soil in this area is poor and produces small bunches, perfect for making highly concentrated Rioja wines. Vineyards are split into hundreds of individual plots, planted with gnarly old bush vines on chalky-clay soils, sheltered under the magnificent Sierra de Cantabria range. Rioja Alavesa has the largest number of ‘Viñedo Singulares’ in Rioja and Luis Cañas is an exemplary producer of single vineyard wines from the region. The Estates' Director of Viticulture, Rubén Jiménez, is celebrated for the important research he has conducted in identifying special sites in the Alavesa, as well as recovering an extraordinary number of ‘lost and ancient’ varieties in the family’s vineyards. He was named Grower of the Year by Tim Atkin MW in 2023 for the vital work he is doing to advance and safeguard the region. In 2016, Juan Luis, son of Luis Cañas opened Bodegas Amaren in the neighbouring village of Samaniego, and named his son, Jon Cañas, winemaker.

Viticulture

The Tempranillo, Graciano and Viura grapes (a field blend from a single plot) come from a single plot in Villabuena, in front of the cellar.

Winemaking

The harvested grapes are fermented in temperature-controlled French oak casks and macerated to extract their full potential. The resulting wine is then passed to French oak barrels where it undergoes malolactic fermentation to give it complexity and aromatic intensity while stabilising its colour. The wine is aged for a total of 15 months in new 500L French oak barrels from a selection of several top French coopers.

Tasting Note

A lovely dark plum red colour, the ripe concentrated fruit aromas have a mineral touch, spice and notes of forest fruit preserve wrapped in tones of butterscotch. Concentrated and buttery, well-balanced with fine tannins and well balanced acidity. A long and expressive finish leaving a clear impresson of the mineral character of the terroir.

Food Matching

Red meat, cheeses, or fatty fish. It goes well with lamb dishes, beef steak and grilled blue fish (salmon, etc.).