Finca Martelo Rioja Reserva 2016
Finca Martelo Rioja Reserva is a site-specific wine, first produced in 2012 as an innovative ‘château concept’ from high-altitude plots surrounding the Torre de Oña winery, before the new rules for Viñedos Singulares. Head winemaker Julio Saenz refers to it as “our little Burgundy” because of how closely it represents this unique location. The wine is a field blend, 95% Tempranillo with 5% other varieties including Mazuelo, Garnacha, and even Viura. The chalk soils and 80-year-old vines at Torre de Oña produce a fuller, riper style of Rioja, while the high altitude and Atlantic influence in Rioja Alavesa keeps the wine fresh and elegant. This style is complemented by the use of 20% French oak alongside 80% American oak and shorter maturation in addition to La Rioja Alta’s ultra-traditional methods such as optical berry sorting and racking by hand. Matured for 24 months in oak Finca Mertelo has intense aromas, with notes of ripe fruit, wild strawberries, red currants and red cherries wrapped in fine notes of patisserie, shortbread, vanilla, liquorice and peppercorns. Well-balanced in the mouth, with a pleasant freshness, and sweet, silky tannins that lead to an enveloping finish. This is a vintage to enjoy now, but with a long, exciting life ahead.
