A distinctive feature of Valenciso’s approach in the cellar has been the widespread use of concrete tanks for fermentation. This practice allows for a gentler extraction of fruit and colour. Concrete vats were once a mainstay in Rioja but by the 1980s, the tradition of fermenting and aging in cement vessels had largely been replaced by stainless steel and oak maturation. Today, thanks to its numerous advantages and a group of specialist manufacturers, concrete is back at the forefront of fashion.
While all Valenciso’s wines see the inside of some concrete during maturation, this new bottling has—as the name suggests—been fermented and raised entirely in concrete vats. It’s 100% Tempranillo drawn from a group of old-vine sites nestled in the limestone-rich hillsides of Haro and Ollauri. All up, this was aged for 30 months before bottling, resulting in a wonderfully bright and complex wine with wild blackberry and red plum characters, laced with hints of black pepper in an elegant, rounded palate with fine, lingering tannins. Terrific.