Gomez Crusado Rioja Reserva, 2014

85% Tempranillo and 10%Graciano from 30-year-old bush vines located at the foot of the Sierra Cantabria mountains and along the lower course of the Najerilla River. The remaining 10% Garnacha is harvested from bush vines near the village of Badarán.

HARVEST: Grapes were handpicked in 200 kg crates and hand sorted at the winery.

WINEMAKING: 3 days of pre fermentative maceration at a low temperature, with daily remontages and delestages during its temperature-controlled fermentation in cone-shaped stainless steel vats. Aged for 18 months in French new and second-year oak barriques, followed by 2 years of bottle ageing at our cellar.

SOIL: The vineyards are cultivated in alluvial soils, where we find grapes with excellent ripeness and elegance. Along the Sierra Cantabria mountains and the higher course of the Najerilla river, we find calcareous and ferrous clay soils that give the wine’s structure and silkiness.

CLIMATIC YEAR:
After warm autumn the year before, the 2014 vintage turned cold and rainy with a complicated climatology and an early harvest. During the last third of the harvest, there were unusually high temperatures and heavy precipitation. This made human intervention in the vineyard the determining factor, including leaf removal and proper management of the vegetation, together with ecological measures to control and minimize the impact of vineyard pests (Lobesiabotrana).

Alcohol content: 14.5%
pH: 3.78
Residual sugar: 1.6 g/l.