2018 El Cristo de Samaniego, Amaren, Rioja, Spain
£39.99
Cherry red, the fine elegant and complex nose gives way to excellent concentration of black fruit and subtle touches of creamy oak as well as hints of roasted coffee and minerals....
Cherry red, the fine elegant and complex nose gives way to excellent concentration of black fruit and subtle touches of creamy oak as well as hints of roasted coffee and minerals. This is full bodied, fleshy and elegant with plenty of complexity and power.
A singular Vineyard in Samaniego at the foothills of Sierra Cantabria al 625m altitude. Soils are made up of sand and limestone.
Upon entering the bodega, bunches are carefully selected before being de-stemmed so the individual berries can be sorted based on their weight. Grapes are pre-macerated at 8ºC for five days. Only the most perfect grapes are allowed to pass to wooden vats of French oak for fermentation, which lasts seven days. The resulting wine is then racked to new French oak barrels for malolactic fermentation, during which the lees are pumped over periodically. The wine is later clarified with egg white to obtain a well-rounded wine with excellent oak integration. A total of 14 months in new French oak from a selection of oak forests in central France.
Bodegas Amaren, meaning 'of my mother' in Basque pays homage to Ángeles, the mother of Juan Luis Cañas, owner of Bodegas Luis Cañas.
Ángeles dedicated her life to the winery with a fierce passion to produce only the highest quality wines. In 2009 Juan created a winery dedicated to making wines that represent the pioneering ambition of his mother. Grapes are hand harvested and vineyard plots are categorised according to quality. These wines are so good five of the seven 3-star Michelin restaurants in Spain feature them on their menus.