Valenciso Rioja Laderas de Cabama 2024

Valenciso Laderas de Cabama is a single-vineyard Rioja Alta Tempranillo made in a deliberately younger, more fruit-forward style than the house Reserva.

Rioja Alta is the cooler, higher western end of the region, and Ollauri sits close to its heart on the classic clay and limestone soils that give Rioja both structure and lift. Valenciso works in a restrained, modern-classical idiom with little interest in heavy new oak. Laderas de Cabama is 100% Tempranillo from a single plot of 40-year-old vines on that clay and limestone. The bottling was once built along the same lines as the Reserva, made to age in barrel and bottle before release; from the 2018 vintage the estate has picked a little earlier and changed the winemaking to suit a wine drunk sooner. A portion of the fruit ferments as whole berries in semi-carbonic maceration for a more primary, juicy profile, and fermentation takes place in cool concrete. Ageing runs to 14 months in used French oak barrels, with no new wood at all.

Approachable on release and worth keeping five or six years; serve at 16-18°C with grilled lamb cutlets, jamon or a mushroom rice.

*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.