Ramón de Ayala Lete e Hijos
2019 Viña Santurnia Rioja Reserva 750ml
Leather and warm spice lead with an earthy core, set in a medium to full frame with fine tannins. The finish stays long and fresh. It stays savory and dry, with presence rather than heft.
It opens with toasted oak, vanilla and coconut, then the savory core steps forward. At Ramón de Ayala Lete e Hijos, Tempranillo with Mazuelo and Graciano sets the savory tone. The family ages the wine two years in mostly American oak to build gentle tannin and that seasoned feel without becoming heavy. This is classic Rioja Reserva character, meant to settle in at the table and stay.
- Producer
- Ramón de Ayala Lete e Hijos
- Style
- Red
- Grape
- Mazuelo
- Origin
- Rioja, Spain
- Farming
- Sustainable
- Winemaking
- Destemmed by gravity into stainless steel tanks of 25,000 kg, fermented 8 days at 28 to 30C with two pumpovers daily at the start and a light daily pumpover at the end, then macerated on skins 4 days. Manual pressing inside the fermenters. Aged 24 months in oak, 80 percent American and 20 percent French. Bottled September 2021.
- Tech sheet
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Briñas, Rioja, Spain
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Ramón de Ayala Lete e Hijos
In 1970, Tomás’s grandson Ramón de Ayala and his wife Flora Orive began selling their wines from a rustic restaurant above those cellars under the Viña Santurnia name, becoming early adopters of the Rioja Denominación de Origen. Today the winery combines traditional methods with stainless steel and underground aging, housing around 500 barrels and a bottle cellar of more than 150,000 bottles across an expanded facility built into natural stone.
| Nose | Leather, baking spice, earthy, vanilla and coconut, toasted oak |
|---|---|
| Palate | Leather and spice with an earthy core, subtle fruit layered with coconut and vanilla, fine tannins |
| Finish | Long, fresh, oak spice |
| Texture | Velvety, fine grained tannin |
| Body | Medium to full |
| Serving | Serve at 60F. Decant if you prefer the oak to settle. |
- ABV
- 13.8%
- Pairs with
- Roast lamb with rosemary and garlic; grilled pork chops with smoked paprika; mushroom paella; Manchego with chorizo and olives.
- Vineyard
- Calcareous clay with gravel soils from family vineyards in Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa around Briñas, Haro and Labastida, plantings from 1980 to 1992 and from 1986 to 1998, yields about 6,500 kg per hectare
red grape · major international
Tempranillo
tem·prah·nee·yoh
Savory leather and tobacco with dried strawberry; unusually low natural acidity.
red grape · regional specialty
Graciano
grah·see·ah·no
Extreme natural acidity and intense licorice perfume in a deeply pigmented red.
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Leather and warm spice lead with an earthy core, set in a medium to full frame with fine tannins. The finish stays long and fresh. It stays savory and dry, with presence rather than heft.It opens with toasted oak, vanilla and coconut, then the savory core s...
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