Bodegas Exopto Rioja La Mimbrera de Exopto 2016

Bodegas Exopto La Mimbrera is a Rioja red co-fermented as a field blend from a single half-hectare plot of old bush vines in Ábalos.

Rioja Alta is the coolest and highest of the three Rioja subzones, and the villages along the Sonsierra below the Sierra de Cantabria are its most limestone-rich corner. Tom Puyaubert, a Bordeaux-trained French winemaker, settled in Rioja in 2003 and bought this plot first; it remains the reference point for everything Exopto has done since. La Mimbrera sits at 400 metres, a kilometre from the estate's El Espinal parcel but on markedly more active limestone. The vines are interplanted at roughly 70 per cent Tempranillo, 25 per cent Garnacha and 5 per cent Viura, the Garnacha now well over a century old and the rest in their seventies and eighties. Viticulture is organic and the rows are worked by mule. The fruit is hand harvested, co-fermented with wild yeasts and matured in a single used French oak barrel, then bottled unfiltered.

Approachable now with an hour in the decanter and built to hold for a decade or more. Serve at 16-18°C with slow-roasted lamb shoulder, grilled quail or a plate of aged Manchego.

*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.