Silver Medal: Decanter World Wine Awards 2012
90 points: Peñin Guide
Wine & Food Horizen: Top 300 wines of Spain
A deep ruby-red colour. Aromas of red and black fruits (cherries, blackberries) mingle with spicy and smoky notes. On the palate, intense black fruit flavours come to the fore, very clean and pure, with silky tannins. There is a very minerally, long finish. Extremely well-balanced between intensity and refinement. Decant before drinking for best results.
Enjoy with meat dishes, such as roasts or stews typical to Mediterranean cuisine, accompanied with tomato and pepper sauces or cooked with traditional herbs and spices.
This blend consists of 80% Tempranillo, 10% Garnacha and 10% Graciano. Fermentation takes place in concrete and oak vessels with 12 months ageing in French oak casks thereafter.
Bodegas Exopto was founded in 2003 in La Rioja by Bordeaux native Tom Puyaubert. Tom arrived in Spain at the beginning of 2000 to settle in La Rioja and increase sales for a famous French cooperage. In daily contact with the best winemakers in Spain, he became enthralled with La Rioja, its vineyards, culture and whole way of life. Now he expresses the region's character through a range of distinctive, original white and red wines.
The main idea behind the project is to produce different wines within the historical context of La Rioja: wines with more colour and freshness, better fruit expression and a finer contribution from the oak. All the red wines produced at Bodegas Exopto are blends of the three principal Rioja grape varieties. Depending on the type of wine, Garnacha will be used for its fruit, Graciano for its freshness and Tempranillo for its structure.
Bodegas Exopto, located in Laguardia, demonstrates to perfection a complex balance between modern and traditional winemaking: the various parcels of vineyards are aged between 30 and 90 years and the winery’s tanks are made of oak and concrete, traditional and very fine quality materials that allow the wine to express itself and develop a great complexity of aromas and flavours.
