Rioja ’El Bardallo’ - Tempranillo & Viura (23)

Tempranillo & Viura | fieldblend | vanaf 2022 afkomstig van meerdere plots in de lieu-dit | 40+ jaar oude bush vines | 515 meter hoogte | terroir van kalk | klein percentage whole bunch | gisting in open kuipen | rijping voor 10 maanden in 500 en 600 liter Frans eiken | 3200 flessen geproduceerd | amarena kers | verleidelijk | elegant en verfijnd | wat zijde | floraal | diep | kruiden | munt | pracht fraîcheur en fraaie tannine

José Gil

Zelden een wijnmaker ontmoet die op jonge leeftijd al zo toegewijd is aan zijn wijngaarden en zo snel naam en faam maakt binnen de wijnwereld. José Gil en zijn vrouw Vicky runnen samen 5ha aan wijngaarden in Rioja. Al hun wijngaarden zijn terug te vinden rondom het “grand cru" dorp San Vicente 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 zelfs 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

The 2023 El Bardallo was produced with Tempranillo and 10% Viura from three plots in the lieu-dit that names the wine at 555 meters above sea level, one of them ungrafted and all on soils with a high content of calcium carbonate. It fermented with 15% full clusters in concrete with indigenous yeasts and matured in 500-liter barrels for 11 months. The 2023s tend to have lower alcohol and more freshness and acidity than the 2022s; for example, this has 13.6% alcohol. They seem to have removed any trace of fat from this wine, and it's fine-boned and serious, not exuberant. It has a very chalky palate through the texture of the tannins. It should be long lived. 3,300 bottles produced. It was bottled in September 2024. I previewed this wine from 2024 and it could be the wine of the year together with Camino de Ribas, slightly above La Canoca. But it's too early to talk... 95/100 Luis Gutiérrez

Husband and wife Jose Gil and Vicky Fernandez, Vignerons de la Sonsierra, now have 12 hectares of owned and rented vineyards and age their wines in concrete and 500-liter barrels in their medieval caves under the San Vicente de la Sonsierra castle. They produce 30,000 bottles. This is one of the most (if not the most) interesting young projects in Rioja.

I tasted the reds from 2023 and the white from 2022. 2023 was slightly cooler than 2022, with more rain and a later harvest, when they have added some plots from La Canoca and made slight changes in other wines. It was not an easy year; it hailed twice in some plots (Bardallo and Camino de Ribas), which made them sort, select and discard, but the result was fresher than 2022. They are still on their way up, polishing details in many things, including the bottling, and there's more precision in the wines. They used more full clusters in 2023 than in 2022. 2022 was, of course, a very warm and dry year, harvested early and aged in barrel and demijohn that gave the wine more agility.