• Sierra de Tolono Rioja Blanco 2019
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Sierra de Tolono Rioja Blanco 2019

Sierra de Tolono Rioja Blanco 2019

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  • Description
  • Tasting Notes
  • Winery

  • 100% Viura—an indigenous variety here—from biodynamically farmed vineyards, She is always the first to harvest, usually around the 3rd week of September, and she decides when it's time by tasting the berries. Minimal treatments are "easy," says Sandra, thanks to the ferocious and non-stop wind in these vineyards. The grapes are 100% de-stemmed and 90% is made in tank; 10% is made in French oak. All is kept on the fine lees until bottling.

    • Vintage: 2019
    • Appellation: D.O.Ca. Rioja 
    • Grapes: 100% Viura
    • Aging period: 90% in Stainless steel tnaks and 10% in oak barrels
    • Oak: French oak barrels

  • Tasting notes

    "On the nose, the wine is very floral with slight "toasted" notes. There is a silky aspect ont he pallet with big acidity which makes for a long finish. "

  • In the foothills of the Sierra de Toloño, in Rioja Alavesa, Sandra Bravo works in some of the oldest, and highest altitude vineyards in Rioja, growing Garnacha, Tempranillo, Viura, and some Graciano. This young winemaker who worked in France, New Zealand, and Italy before coming back to her native land translates the mountainous landscape into pure and expressive wines.

    She has this small winery in Villabuena de Álava, where she works with steel, amphoras, and old wood. From that area she also works on various micro-plots, being able to harvest multiple varietals from micro-terroirs that together form a fresh, beautiful image of the area. 

    Recently, Sandra Bravo and her wines have been gaining a lot of traction within Rioja due to her "hands-of" approach and the freshness of the terroir. In 2019 Tim Atkins named her the "Best Young Wine Maker" in 2019 and raved about "her talent, energy and work ethic," which are embodied in her finished products. Sandra explains "I am trying to be invisible in the winery" emphasizing the freshness and authenticity of the grapes being used. 

    In her own words:

    “I was studying Engineering and Enology in Rioja and then I was working in wineries of Bordeaux, Tuscany, New Zealand, and California. When I came back to Spain I spent 7 years in Priorat. All that experience gave me an open point of view to make different wines here in Rioja (where I come from). I have to say Priorat really influenced me to make artisanal wines, and to understand that the most important is the vineyard, the vineyard with soul.
    When I came back to Rioja in 2012, I decided to make wines respecting what the vineyard gives and always looking for freshness. I was in love with this area in Rioja Alavesa, calcareous soil, small plots, Mediterranean herbs, and always North wind with high altitude (right in the mountain that gives my name’s project: Sierra de Toloño)… it was perfect! Because of all of this my wines are really mineral.
    The wines are fresh and not too oaky, I try to do minimal intervention in the cellar, then I can keep wines alive into the bottle. In Rivas de Tereso (650 m altitude) I have the vineyards of Sierra de Toloño (Red and White) and two top wines: La Dula, which is planted to Garnacha and Rivas de Tereso, planted to Tempranillo."

Wine Info

  • Vintage: (2019)
  • Varietal: ()
  • Aging: ()
  • Producer: (Sierra de Tolono)

Tasting Notes

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