Veriquete Tentenublo, is another single vineyard wine in the Escondite del Ardacho series and it's just... amazing!
The formidable Roberto Oliván changed the well-known oaked and unraised versions of Rioja when in 2011 he expanded the 30-year-old family business with just 10 hectares of vineyards. This led him in 2015, at just 37 years old, to be named the best winemaker of the year! With the experience of the 4th generation winemaker, through his small winery and Tentenublo Wines, he gave a different expression of Rioja with freshness, complexity and the subtle influence of oak, dominating. He distinguished himself by adding white varieties (usually Viura or Malvasia), which create "chaotic complexity" in his red wines. His style was recognized very quickly and is now a role model for thousands of young Riojan winemakers!
The name Tentenublo, means "ringing bells" and arose from an old local tradition, which wants the sound of the bells to ward off storms and hail that destroyed the grapes. And there's even better...the labels of the Escondite del Ardacho range refer to a species of native lizard that lives on the vines from which the grapes are harvested. In this series, Veriquete took her walks in the specific vineyards!
Tentenublo Veriquete is a blend of the Tempranillo variety, with a small percentage of Garnacha, Malvasia and white Viura. They are grown at an altitude of 600 meters, in the hills of Sierra Cantabria and are 50 to 105 years old, so there is a small production, but an excellent concentration of fruit! Each vine is harvested and vinified separately with minimal intervention, while fermentation takes place spontaneously with native yeasts and the wine is not filtered. After 9 months in second-hand French oak, the result is impressive!
Limited bottles are being bottled, so you should probably hurry…
