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

Producer Profile

In 1970 Luis Cañas changed two hundred years of tradition and became the first winemaker in Rioja Alavesa to bottle his young wine rather than sell it as bulk.

This bold move, and his continued pioneering spirit, has cemented the winery's enviable reputation as one of the most progressive in the region. Sheltered below the watchful Sierra Cantabria, the vineyards are all old, small plots on chalky-clay soils with a dedicated team of vineyard workers carrying out organic practices and a purpose built, fully equipped accommodation block was built for the entire vineyard team in 2006.

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.).