Graciano and Syrah

"A deep, brooding nose with lots of fine oak spices and hazelnuts that adorn the blackberries and violets. Succulent and bright on the palate, with caressing, silky tannins dialing into the black and blue fruit. Quite long and subtle. Delicious now, but can hold, too." -James Suckling

Fermentation and maceration are carried out separately for each variety, in small stainless steel tanks, combining pumpovers and délestages. The process is prolonged for approximately 20 days with gentle extractions. We gently press the grapes and the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation in even smaller stainless steel tanks. When the wine has naturally lost its thickest suspended solids, we transfer it to barrels; each variety separately and in oak of different origins.

For the Graciano, we chose hand-crafted, fine-grain, French oak barrels. For the Syrah we chose American oak barrels that enhance the freshness of the wine and aid its refinement. The wine is aged for 12 to 14 months in the same barrels without racking. It is assembled and bottled without fining.

Finca la Pared covers 25 acres (10 hectares) in the Rioja Alavesa region (also known as Sonsierra Navarra). The vineyards are located at 1,555 feet (474 meters) above sea level, at the foothills of Sierra de Codes near the village of Los Arcos.

Vines are over 20 years old and are planted on rugged terrains with a lot of elevation change in a naturally-formed amphitheater in the mountains, marked by cool temperatures. This results in an estate with two very different sun-exposures, North and South. The northern sun-exposure is ideal for Merlot and Chardonnay, while the southern sun-facing partis perfect for Syrah.