Cerro la Isa White 2018

DATA SHEET

Wine: White
Varieties: Garnacha Blanca, Malvasía, Viura and Turruntés.
Brand: Cerro la Isa
Region: D.O.Ca. Rioja. Rioja Alta. Baños de Río Tobía.
Method: Organic Viticulture

ORIGIN OF THE GRAPE

Viñedo Singular is the new top category in Rioja wines. Cerro la Isa Garnacha is made with the best grapes selected during the harvest of the old gobelet-trained vineyards that Juan Carlos Sancha’s great-grandfather planted 113 years ago for his son, upholding a long-standing tradition in Rioja. This petite jewel of a plot occupies just 1.7 hectares tucked away on a slope that enjoys perfect southern exposure on an impressive grade at 700 metres above sea level overlooking the upstream valley of the Najerilla river (called Alto Valle del Najerilla by locals) in Baños de Río Tobía. The vineyard’s extremely limited yield and exacting selection process have resulted in a production of only 600 bottles. This wine is one of the few that has been awarded the distinction of Viñedo Singular.

WINEMAKING

The Vineyard: Classified as a unique Viñedo Singular vineyard. Planted in 1906 in a square “marco real” grid pattern measuring 1.4 by 1.4 hectares. Located on a parcel with perfect southern exposure on a 40% grade at 700 metres above sea level in shallow, nutrient-poor soil whose strong limestone-clay character is accented by a high iron content. The Garnacha Tinta red grape variety mingles with other white varieties in the vineyard, all of them perfectly adapted to their environment.

Climate: The Alto Najerilla area is known for its particularly chilly winters, balmy summers and long, mild autumns whose stark differences between day and night time temperatures create perfect conditions for slow ripening, well-synthesised polyphenols and highly-developed berry aromatics.

Harvest: Hand-picked grapes were carried in 15-kg boxes during the second week of October. Extremely limited yield of 2,500 kg per hectare.

Winemaking: After the grapes were destemmed by hand, they were pressed in a small vertical press. Static racking was then performed with fermentation at 16ºC in new 500-litre barrels made of premium Tronçais French oak.

Ageing: Wine aged for 8 months on its lees in the same barrels where it fermented.

Production: 600 bottles.