Sierra Cantabria Amancio 2005

2005 Vintage

D. O. Calificada Rioja
Varieties: Tempranillo 100 %.

Tasting Notes: The 2005 Amancio reveals a splendid bouquet of sandalwood, Asian spices, incense, truffle, and blackberry. It has excellent concentration, plenty of savory fruit, nicely concealed tannins, and a lengthy finish.

Origin of the Grapes:

Vineyard: Proprietary vineyard in "La Veguilla" area, in San Vicente de la Sonsierra, La Rioja. Surface: 15 Has (37 acres). Altitude: 575 m. (1 ,890 ft). Sun exposure: S.S.E. (South South east). Soils of calcareous clay; abundance of small rounded stones on surface.

Age: 20 to 35 years old vines. Density of plantation: 4,000 vines per hectare. Type of training: Head-trained in goblet and on trellis. Organic fertilization . Environmental integrated agriculture cultivation.

Exhaustive manual harvesting in boxes. Rigorous selection (in a vineyard of exceptional characteristics) exclusively of just the perfectly-formed, healthy and mature bunches were picked resulting in only 8-10 % of all the bunches from the vineyard.

Date of harvest: First week of October,

Vinification:
De-stemmed by hand with a rigorous selection of every grape. Cold pre-fermentative maceration during 6 days.

Fermentation:
Fermented in French oak barrels of 5 hectoliters of capacity and in 2 French oak vats of 10 hectoliters. Pressed by foot twice per day during the 8 days of fermentation.
Maceration: On the skins for 14 days. Malolactic Fermentation: In 100 % new French oak Bordelaise barrels.

Aging:
Barrel: 24 months in a different new French oak Bordelaise barrels (“200 % new barrel”). Racking every four months. Bottle: Since July 2007

Presentation:
Bottle: Bordelais Antiqua, 750 mL and 1,280 grams; Quercia colour, U.V. filtered.
Cork: 54 mm long by 24.5 mm diameter, average density 180 grams. Washed and sterilized. 100% Natural, maximum quality.
Label: Recyclable paper printed with ecological ink (without heavy metals).

Winemaker: Marcos Eguren.

Ratings:

R Parker : ´Perhaps my favourite value winery in Rioja´