Bodegas Exopto El Bernate de Exopto 2020

Bodegas Exopto El Bernate de Exopto is a concrete-egg-fermented white from a single plot of eighty-year-old Malvasía Riojana.

Rioja is overwhelmingly a red region and its whites are more often Viura; Malvasía Riojana is a minor partner, grown in small quantities and rarely bottled on its own. El Bernate takes its name from the vineyard, a tiny plot of eighty-year-old vines on the limestone soils of San Vicente de la Sonsierra in Rioja Alta. Bodegas Exopto is the project of Tom Puyaubert, a Bordelais who settled in Rioja and works with old parcels across the Sonsierra. His stated aim here is to preserve the mineral and citric character the variety can develop on Rioja Alta limestone, and the winemaking is shaped to that end. The fruit spends two weeks on skins, ferments with indigenous yeasts in a 950-litre concrete egg, and remains in the same vessel for a year before bottling. Concrete gives shape and a slow exchange of air without the imprint of oak.

Drink over the next five years; serve at 11-12°C with roast chicken, grilled white fish or a wedge of Idiazábal.

*Every effort is made to ensure the current vintage is accurate; however, variations can occur. If you are after a specific vintage, please contact us prior to ordering.