Rioja Grano a Grano - Graciano (18)

Graciano | single vineyard in Rioja Alavesa | ‘grape by grape’ met de hand ontsteeld | vergist in cement | gerijpt op nieuwe eikenhout voor 12-16 maanden | super intens | rijk | veel structuur | diepte | winnaar | wijn met enorm potentieel tot rijpen! 

Abel&Maite Mendoza

Een stel echt pioniers in het Rioja gebied, zijn Abel en Maite. Al 25 jaar verbouwen zij biodynamische druiven in verschillende regio’s van de Rioja, op 22 verschillende percelen. Zij hebben ervoor gekozen om alle kleine percelen apart te laten vergisten om zo een soort ‘Bourgogne systeem’ te introduceren, alleen is dit vrij lastig gebleken. In de kelder wordt er traditioneel gewerkt en levert wijnen op die altijd hoge scores krijgen. Het is niet voor niets dat ze altijd bij de 15 beste producenten van de regio zitten!

Review

The 2018 Graciano Grano A Grano is nothing short of amazing, because I wonder how this variety that everybody says is very difficult to ripen can deliver a wine like this is a vintage like 2018. I think the answer is a lot of work in the vineyard, which is the secret of what Mendoza does. The wine is more elegant than ever, fine, fresh, balanced, nuanced and super tasty, vibrant and fresh, with 13.5% alcohol and a pH of 3.43. Brilliant... The finest Graciano in the world? It matured for 18 months in French oak barrels, now mostly 500-liter ones. 2,295 bottles were filled in March 2020. Luis Gutierrez 97/100

Abel Mendoza has very high hopes for the wines from 2021. He told me he hasn't seen a vintage like it for a long time—healthy grapes and a lack of issues, some hail in one plot, harvest from the end of September. He then said it's the best vintage since 2010, but better than 2010, with more freshness and acidity. The whites could very well be the finest collection to date. Most of the reds were from 2018, a challenging and cool vintage that produced lows and highs, but some very high highs... The 2018 collection is also the finest group of reds I have seen here. On average, he produces 80,000 bottles. The finest 80,000 bottles they have produced so far...