Valenciso Rioja Reserva 10 Años Después 2012

10 Años Después is a Rioja reserva held back for a decade before release, aged first in concrete and then in Caucasian oak.

Valenciso was founded at Ollauri by Luis Valentín and Carmen Enciso, who left long careers at established Rioja houses to make wine in a plainer, less overtly oaky style. The Tempranillo for this cuvée comes from the estate's highest parcel, a seventy-five-year-old vineyard at Villalba, where ripeness arrives with the acidity intact and the fruit is well suited to long ageing. Fermentation is with wild yeasts, after which the wine spends five years in a 50-hectolitre concrete tank before a further forty months in low-toast Caucasian oak, the same barrels used for the estate's white. Release comes ten years after harvest, which is what the name records. The long spell in concrete has cost the wine none of its colour and appears instead to have concentrated its fruit and its aromatic definition.

It is ready now and has the balance to age further. Serve at 16–18°C with roast lamb, mushroom rice or a hard sheep's cheese.

*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.