Wine Club: Sierra de Toloño
If you’ve been on the wine train long enough you’ve probably heard of Rioja, a notable wine making region in northern central Spain focused on growing Tempranillo. High In the foothills of the sub region Rioja Alavesa, Sandra Bravo is working some of the oldest & highest altitude vines in the region.
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 give 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 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 in bottle. In Rivas de Tereso (650m altitude) I have the vineyards of Sierra de Toloño (Red and White) and two more serious wines made with Tempranillo and Garnacha.”
We are incredibly excited to not only highlight these new wines for your March wine club, but we will also be hosting Sandra Bravo on Saturday March 25th from 3-5 PM for a wine tasting with Jessica Gualano of Bowler Imports. As usual this tasting is complementary for you and a guest! We hope you will join us for our first ever meeting of Sandra.
Cheers!
Wine Club: 2 bottles
Sierra de Toloño ‘Blanco’ • 100% Viura
100% Viura—an indigenous variety here—from biodynamically farmed vineyards, 1.5ha of which Sandra owns and 7.5 ha of which she rents. 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.
Sierra de Toloño ‘Tinto’ • 100% Tempranillo
The mountains of Sierra de Toloño, with their clay and limestone rocky-soils, are perfect conditions to grow Tempranillo. This is Sandra Bravo's "soldier", the wine that points the way to some of the most elegant expressions of Rioja Alavesa we've encountered. Harvested by hand, mid-October, the wine ferments spontaneously and then ages for 8 months in neutral barrels, and a little bit in amphorae. It is bottled unfiltered and unfined.
Wine Club: 3-4 bottles
Sierra de Toloño ‘Garnacha de Altura’ • 100% Garnacha
100% Garnacha from very old vines (80+) grown on the clay and limestone soils of the Rivas de Tereso (650m elevation). Spontaneous fermentation in old used foudres, and elevage in clay amphorae.
Sierra de Toloño ‘Raposo Tempranillo’ • Tempranillo, Graciano
In this wine, Sandra wanted to pay homage to the people of Villabuena de Álava where she is originally from. The vineyards are located at 500m altitude within the valley of the Rivas de Tereso. A blend of Tempranillo and a small amount of Graciano the wine is fermented and aged in large foudres. No fining or filtering.
*notes on wines from Bowler Imports