Amancio

D.O.Ca. Rioja

San Vicente de la Sonsierra

100% Tempranillo

La Veguilla single cru, one of the Eguren family's Grand Cru vineyard sites

1966-1981

Environmentally integrated agriculture. Employing viticulture that respects the biorhythms of the plant and vineyard. Strict selection during hand picking at harvest. Grapes are stored in small boxes. Organic fertilization. A combination of goblet head trained vines and trellis. Plowed by horse. Practicing organic dry farmed viticulture with certain selective biodynamic practices. La Llana is trained to high density trellises. Manual work and harvest, with no mechanization whatsoever.

Calcareous clay soils that are typical to the Sonsierra Riojana. Limestone rich clay soils that are sandwiched between large slabs of lime-sandstone mother rock. The surface has a significant percentage of gravel.

Continental with heavy Atlantic influences that are moderated by the Sierra Cantabria.

Destemmed by hand, berry by berry, with a rigorous selection of every grape. Cold pre-fermentative maceration. Fermentation of the whole berries is carried out in 1,000L French oak vats (Taransaud) with inoculated yeasts that were cultured and isolated from the family's vineyards and cellar. Very gentle extraction by pigeage. Malolactic fermentation in new Bordelaise French oak barrels.

24 months in new Bordelaise French oak barrique. Racked every four months. Ageing is carried out in subterranean cellars that were carved by the family at the end of the 1990's. Due to the low temperatures and high humidity, the rate of oxidation is reduced allowing the family to work with low levels of SO2.

The Eguren family are the pioneers in the production of parcel specific single cru wines from Rioja in the Burgundy model. Amancio is named for Amancio Eguren, Marcos & Miguel Angel's grandfather. The wine is sourced from La Veguilla, of the Eguren's Grand Crus which is planted to Tempranillo, Viura, Malvasía, and Garnacha Blanca. The vineyard is north facing on a steep slope, and is incredibly low yielding, resulting in arguably the Eguren's most powerful Tempranillo they produce in Rioja.