Altos R Pigeage Tempranillo Rioja 2021

Powerful, rich and complex, flagship Rioja from this Trophy-winning bodega, close to the mountains
The flagship cuvée of Altos has won over 200 Golds and numerous top scores since 2006, the last vintage gaining eight Golds and 96pts. Using old-vine Tempranillo and Graciano aged in new French oak and amphorae, it’s a serious, Grand Cru style Rioja.
Our Haut-Brion-trained winemaker, Jean-Marc Sauboua, co-founded Altos in 2006 and, all together they’ve won over 300 Golds, four Trophies, plus many high scores. He works with Amaia Amestoy, who gained experience at Rioja’s iconic Marqués de Riscal and Priorat’s Alvaro Palacios before joining Altos. The wine is made from old-vine (80+ years) Tempranillo and Graciano, vinified 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. Long aged in half new French oak barrels, the rest in older barrels, plus 10% in amphorae, all bottled unfiltered, the wine offers seams of intense black fruit with spice-box complexity.