Escondite del Ardacho, El Abundillano 2020

Wine information

El Abundillano 2020 comes from a single vineyard of 0.95 hectares and is made from 90 percent Garnacha, 9 percent Tempranillo and 1 percent Malvasia Riojana. The vineyard is located at an altitude of 590 metres in Rioja Alavesa. In this subzone, Garnacha is really only found in very old vineyards these days; the vines in this one are 95 to 110 years old. The plot is exposed and thus unprotected from the north wind. It consists mainly of marl and sandstone soils with a high iron oxide content. Winemaker Roberto Oliván ferments 20 per cent of the grapes with the stems and ages the wine for nine months in used wooden barrels.

Colour

Cherry Red

Nose

The wine has a reductive character and a cool mineral impression. It smells of damp earth and forest and also has an animal note. With more air contact, floral hints and red fruit emerge, but never take over. Overall, this is a well-defined, complex and subtle nose.

Palate

El Abundillano 2020 is characterised by minerality, barrenness and elegance. The wine has remarkable grip, intensity and length. It is also enormously fresh and straightforward. The velvety tannin provides even more presence on the palate. This wine bears the signature of the new Spain - less extract and less wood ultimately mean more precision and finesse. The red wine comes across unadorned and with a lot of personality. Roberto Oliván shows impressively that top Grenache wines in Spain are not reserved for the Sierra de Gredos and Priorat alone, but can also come from Rioja. This is profound and exciting.