Bodega Casa Juan Rioja Joven “Cuarteto”
PRODUCER
COUNTRY
Spain
WINE TYPE
Red
APPELLATION
Rioja Alavesa
VARIETY
Tempranillo
AGE OF VINES
55 years
FARMING
Practicing Organic
SOIL
Chalky clay, grass, wild herbs
ALTITUDE
2550 feet
FERMENTATION
concrete vats with wild yeast
AGING
1 year in concrete vats
DESCRIPTION
All estate fruit, hand harvested and vinified with native yeasts, this is a hand sewn wine with the purity, texture and elegance to prove it. Cuarteto is a classic, Alavesa style “maceración carbonica” wine where the whole clusters of grapes are thrown into vats and the CO2 enables an intracellular fermentation. What differentiates this wine from its peers is that the fermentation is entirely achieved with native yeasts and the aging occurs in concrete vats.
As a result this wine has a fresh and subtly jammy nose, with hints of dried herbs, and a peppery, spicy, cherry fruited palate, with surprising structure.