Montecillo Rioja Gran Reserva 2012

It is a powerful red wine. The nose is shy and frank, with a variety of nuances ranging from sweet wood notes, cinnamon, clove and candied fruit. The palate is smooth and pleasant, with very polished tannins. Balanced acidity. Long and persistent finish.

There's no substitute for experience. And it is clear that age, time and experience are key. Any we're not just talking about any old thing. If you apply this to wine, it makes perfect sense for any aged red wine that is capable of surviving the passage of time, like Montecillo Gran Reserva, a wine made in the DOCa Rioja from 35 year old vines and aged for two years in barrels and four years in the bottle.

Montecillo Gran Reserva starts life in Fuenmayor, a village in Rioja Alta, very close to the Ebro River, where vineyards and winemaking are a religion. In this area, Montecillo (owned by the Osborne port group), owns about 800 plots of land that are cared for and cultivated by local winegrowers, great connoisseurs of the area, who ensure the quality of these grapes. In fact, quality is the main priority both in the vineyard and in the winery; without going any further, both the winery and the barrels were renovated in 2005, installing Ganimede® tanks (perfect for the delicate extraction of aromatic components in large winemaking processes).

The Montecillo Gran Reserva grapes are harvested with special care and brought to the winery in small containers. After a previous drawing off (where the concentration of the must is achieved), Montecillo Gran Reserva is taken to stainless steel tanks where it ferments at a controlled temperature of 28ºC. After this, Montecillo Gran Reserva undergoes a three-week post-fermentation maceration with the skins. This step will prepare it and give the final touch for its aging in French and American oak barrels (for 28 months) and in the bottle (for 4 years). It's amazing.