Altos R Pigeage Tempranillo Rioja 2019

Our Haut-Brion-trained winemaker, Jean-Marc Sauboua, founded Altos in 2006 and, all together, has won over 300 Golds, Trophies, plus many high scores. He leaves Amaia Amestoy in charge of the cellar when he's not there, whose CV includes experience at Murrieta in Rioja and Villacreces in Ribera del Duero. They make this wine from old-vine (80+ years) Tempranillo and Graciano, vinifying it using Burgundy’s pigeage method. This involves fermenting in open vats and plunging the skins into the liquid three times a day – hands-on winemaking that delivers great results. Aged for two years in half new French oak and bottled unfiltered, the wine offers seams of intense black fruit with spice-box complexity.