Rioja 'El Camino'

Score

96

"El Camino is a new wine from the Torre de O¤a team, sourced from three parcels in Elvillar (El Pis¢n, La Revilla and Quintanilla), featuring a field blend of Tempranillo with 20% of other red and white grapes. Spicy and energetic, it has top notes of wild Mediterranean herbs, chalky minerality and layers of black cherry, raspberry and pomegranate. A superb first release. Appealingly refreshing. 2026-2038"

Score

96

"The unnamed wine I tasted last year under the generic name Vi¤edos Artesanales has finally been released as the 2021 El Camino, which comes from three plots of old head-pruned vines planted 81 years ago with Tempranillo and 3% other varieties, including Mazuelo, Garnacha and Viura. The vines are in El Pis¢n, La Revilla and Las Naves lieux-dits of the village of Elvillar. The destemmed grapes fermented in the new winery that was built for this range, Vi¤edos Artesanales, in small troncoconic stainless steel vats, and the wine matured in 500-liter French oak barrels for 14 months, including malolactic. Using larger barrels means the wine has to be sold as generic, or joven; it cannot be sold as Reserva or Gran Reserva, or even Crianza! But user larger barrels also means the oak is a lot more integrated and has less impact on the wine, which is young and juicy, with great freshness, elegance and balance, with a different profile, with a lot lees oak. It shows a little backward, shy, insinuating and subtle, a little austere and opening slowly in the glass. It's silky and elegant, but it has grip, with very chalky tannins. It has contained ripeness, 14.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.78, 4.8 grams of acidity and just under two grams of unfermented sugar. It's evolving in a very slow and positive way. It's a good debut. 3,680 bottles were filled in July 2023. The label is unique; it has a small piece of a vine shoot attached to it!"