Altanza Uva por Uva

2.127 bottles make up this “Uva por Uva” 2019 of excellent vintage, of high expression, of exquisite palates, of restless tastes, of Rioja lovers.

They were selected grape by grape, with love and care, to reveal the best expression of that piece of earth…

The plot: Valvarés vineyard, Tomillares plot. In 2004 we planted this exquisite Tempranillo in the highest part of our vineyard (close to 500 meters above sea level). Driven in trellis, in a plantation frame of 3×1,1, it has been managed to produce 4.500kg per hectare (1,48 kg per plant / a little more than a bottle per plant). Our favorite plot, it traces a stripe from north to south, parallel to the “ravine of the thyme trees”, with which it borders to the west side and from which it receives its name. In this privileged location, the plants enjoy mild, warm breezes, as well as an excellent sun exposure, which helps them to grow healthy and strong, and to produce bunches of grapes that will slowly ripe. Its soil, alluvial and loose in its proximity to the ravine and clay-ferrous in its extension, remains fresh, retaining just the right amount of water that it needs. Year after year it gives us fruit, in good and balanced harvests, which when turned into wine, are enjoyed for its silky and delicate tannins.

Harvest and selection: Harvested on September 25th, 2019, using 12kg baskets to collect, stack and transport the grapes in order to start the fermentation once they are in the winery. The “Selections” are key in this wine. First, in the vineyard, where we only pick the healthiest bunches of grapes. Then, in the winery, where a group of 4 people manually select, cluster by cluster, those grapes that deserve to be turned into this Limited-Edition wine.

Fermentation and aging: The selected ones are kept in a cold chamber for 36 hours, for a pre-fermentative cold maceration at 4ºC, concentrating in this period of time, color and aromas. Four days after, they are introduced into the stainless-steel truncated tank and the fermentation starts spontaneously, thanks to the native yeasts. The temperature is controlled during the whole fermentation process at 20 – 24ºC, for about 20 days. The second fermentation takes place into  into French oak barrels to gain complexity.They are two-year-old barrels, to preserve the fruit expression. The wine is left in the same barrels for 18 months and then bottled into 2,127 bottles where it rests for another 6 more months.