Marqués de Vargas Reserva 2015

Description

Red ruby color, with a hint of a fresh and vibrant character and a touch of sweet spiciness. The wine has a good structure. It is complex, silky and balsamic. Sweet and elegant tannins, that have been polished during the ageing in French oak. The handpicked grapes used for our Marqués de Vargas Reserva come from our 50 ha vineyard “Hacienda Pradolagar”. Marqués de Vargas subscribes to the environmentally friendly concept and practice of sustainable winegrowing. The wine is made traditionally and bottled without any fining or filtering resulting in an unprocessed and fully natural wine.

Awards

94 pts Tim Atkin

91 pts Guia Penin

Vinification

A yield of between 4,000 and 5,000 kilos is produced per hectare. We start to produce our wines at the very moment the grapes are hand-picked. Our “Cuverie” is designed with different sizes and materials of the vats and tanks (oak wood, cement and stainless steel). This means that we can separately vinify each of the 32 plots and then mature the wines in French oak barrels. .

Vintage 2015: After a growing cycle with very favorable weather the vineyard showed excellent canopy development and health condition The month of September with optimal weather and temperatures had a positive influence on the fruit maturation showing intense fruit presence balanced acidity and elegant tannins.

Vineyard

The Marqués de Vargas vineyards cover 50 hectares and are divided into 32 plots, with red grape varieties typical to La Rioja such as Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo, Graciano and Maturana. The vines are grown without the use of herbicides nor pesticides. Throughout the year the vines are cared for as if they were a garden; they are pruned and grapes are removed at the “veraison” to increase the quality of the harvest. At harvest time, the grapes are collected by plots and the bunches arrive at the winery barely minutes after being picked by hand.

Maturation

Classic with destemming, fermented in stainless steel tank of 22.500 liters for 11/13 days, at controlled temperatures Daily remontage and pumping over and long maceration after fermentation to ensure a voluptuous texture. Ageing of 18 months in French barrels , with a maximum use of 4 years.