Rioja ‘Camino de Ribas‘ - Tempranillo, Grenache & Viura

Tempranillo, Garnacha (40%) en wat wite druivenrassen | fieldblend | single vineyard 'La Cónvova' in San Vicente de la Sonsierra | 130 jaar oude bush vines | 610 meter hoogte | zandbodem met zandsteen en kalk | volledig destemmed | gisting in open top fermenters | rijping voor 10 maanden in 500l Frans eiken | 620 flessen geproduceerd | grote wijn | intens | heel jeugdig | karaf 

José Gil

Zelden een wijnmaker ontmoet die op jonge leeftijd al zo toegewijd is aan zijn wijngaard en zo snel naam en faam maakt binnen de wijnwereld. José Gil en zijn vrouw Vicky runnen samen 3ha aan wijngaarden in La Rioja. Al hun wijngaarden zijn terug te vinden rondom het “grand cru’ dorp San Vincente de la Sonsierra.  Hier hebben Olivier Rivière en Abel en Maite Mendoza ook hun wijngaarden liggen. Vaak zijn de percelen niet groter dan een kwart hectare en tegen of zelf over de 100 jaar oud. 

In 2021 roept wijnjournalist Tim Atkim MW José en Vicky uit tot Young Winemaker of the year” in zijn speciale Rioja Report. Ze maken wijnen op basis van single vineyards en één Vino de Pueblo (village wijn). José heeft stage gelopen in de Bourgogne en Mosel en heeft zo zijn kijk op de wijngaarden van Rioja doen veranderden. 

Review

They had to rename the old La Cóncova to 2020 Camino de Ribas because of problems with the brand name. Like all the 2020s, this was aged in used 500-liter barrels, and it's very different from the 2019 that matured in a new and smaller barrel. They used grapes from the oldest part of the vineyard, which is quite large, and they fermented them in stainless steel and plastic bins with 10% full clusters and indigenous yeasts. The wine is elegant, perfumed and floral but serious, more austere than the others, subtle and insinuating. It's nicely textured with very fine chalky tannins and has a medium body. This is approximately 60% Tempranillo and 40% Garnacha. Some 700 bottles were filled in September 2021. 97/100 Luis Gutiérrez

Jose Gil is one of the leading young producers in Rioja and the whole of Spain. He comes from a family of vignerons in San Vicente de la Sonsierra. He works the vineyards and makes the wine together with his wife. They now work eight hectares of vineyards and do all the work themselves. In 2021 they have more plots, and they fermented a white (around 1,000 bottles) and will do a total of 23,000 bottles. The absolute maximum they can do would be around 50,000 or 60,000 bottles. In 2019, there was frost in the higher part of San Vicente, unusual in the sloped vineyards by the Sierra Cantabria, and it further concentrated the wines that were already powerful because of a dry and warm year. They implemented some more changes in 2020, including larger barrels and new coopers they visited in Burgundy. And the vintage in San Vicente was rainier, the weather was warm, and there was a lot of mildew. It rained during the harvest, so there are two harvests—one before and another one after. They picked all of their grapes before the storms—a total for 6,500 bottles from 2020—so they picked with more acidity and less dilution. Furthermore, his wife Vicky was 100% with him in the vineyard, and they could do a lot more work. They now have a two-month-old daughter, Maya.