deAlto, Aurkitu, Garnacha Viñas Viejas, Baja Montaña, Navarra, Spain, 2020

Producer Profile

deAlto Rioja y Más pays tribute to our long-standing love for all things Spanish: the food, the people, and of course the wine…

Master of Wine Giles Cooke, has led our winemaking team to craft a range that illustrates the brilliant potential of Rioja, Navarra and La Mancha as well as the quality of fruit that these regions can deliver when respectful, sustainable techniques are maintained. Drawing on the revered, in-depth knowledge of Paul Shinnie and the technical skills of Marta Juega Rivera, these wines offer a tantalising taste of contemporary Spain. Over a decade’s worth of dedication, travel and experimentation have culminated in the creation of deAlto Rioja y Más, which joins the family of Alliance-owned wineries, Thistledown Wines in Australia and Terres Fidèles in France. Responding to the need for a more sustainable future, our wineries harness the best vineyards to produce wines that are connected by a similar spirit of adventure, experimentation, creativity and commitment to sustainable wine production.

Viticulture

Picture a region of breathtaking beauty and peacefulness, not unlike the majestic beauty of Rioja Alavesa. Add in a speckled, patchwork of spartan vineyards and dusty roads, where the only traffic jams are those created by sheep crossing the road, and you have the Baja Montaña region in Navarra. Fruit is sourced from old vineyards, a mix of bush-vine (en vaso) and trellised, around the villages of Leaché and Aibar in the very eastern reaches of Navarra. Later ripening than in Rioja, the grapes possess a delicious freshness and vitality.

Winemaking

Hand-picked and vinified using selected wild ferment and whole bunch parcels, the musts are handled gently to avoid over-extraction and retain fruit. Post primary fermentation, the wine is pressed to predominantly older oak in order to preserve the wild, energetic fruit profile that defines this region.

Oak Ageing

Time: 12 Months
Type: French
% wine oaked: 50
% new oak: 5

Tasting Note

Wonderfully intense, with bright red fruits, hints of spice and beautiful texture. There is a coolness to the fruit set against the irrepressible generosity of Grenache.

Food Matching

Lamb or goat seem the most appropriate and the brisk, energetic style of the wine works well with the unctuous, sweet meat. Also char grilled veg and meat.