San Vicente 2020

Tasting notes:

• Colour Bigarreau cherry colour, high opacity, intense garnet rim, brilliant and with an abundant gliceric.
• Very intense and expressive in the nose. Smoked, memories of the barrel, roasted mixed with coffee and cocoa. As it opens, it shows ripe black fruits, minerals and certain notes of liquor.
• In mouth it is a powerful wine, with a lot of fruit, but very subtle at the same time. Its aging in oak barrels gives a fineness and a special elegance. A great red wine, long and persistent, which shows all the expression of Tempranillo Peludo, a unique grape variety.

Elaboration and Ageing:

It is a monovarietal red wine of the Tempranillo Peludo variety, a historical variety that has practically disappeared due to its low yield. San Vicente is made from a practically organic crops (organic fertilizer and without the use of herbicides or pesticides) and a very demanding selection (manual harvest in boxes and double selection in the winery). San Vicente shows the unique characteristics of the environment, the microclimate, the vineyard and the variety. After the fermentation, it is aged for 19 months in new Bordeaux French (90%) and American (10%) oak barrels.

Curiosities:

Since its first vintage in 1991, San Vicente has opened new ground in the Rioja Qualified Designation of Origin, achieving excellent scores since then.

In the heart of the Sierra de Cantabria, Guillermo Eguren decided almost three decades ago to plant a native Rioja variety from the Sonsierra area: the Peludo (hairy) Tempranillo. The decision to select only this variety represents the objective of giving priority to quality over profitability. A variety that was disappearing due to its low production, ideal for ageing in barrels and from which more fruity, elegant and smooth wines are obtained. With this, Guillermo and his brothers have managed to obtain a particularly unique wine, as it comes from a unique estate, a unique variety and a unique winery.