deAlto Amo, El Primero, Rioja 2021

An amazing Rioja that is vivacious, vital and very tasty!

Flavours of plum and strawberry are enhanced with subtle woodspice, cherry and wild herbs. The palate is juicy and mouth-filling, while remaining fresh and vibrant with a textural layering that is normally only found in much more expensive wines.

Aged for less than a year in old oak barrels, not for oak flavour but for texture and space, the wine is a modern vision of Rioja's great traditions, reinventing the sometimes tired same-old Reserva and Crianza styles with a clean and generous approach. In this relatively new wine, the grape proportions are effectively turned on their head made as it is produced from 75% Garnacha and 25% Tempranillo (that's how there is such natural, generous spice character!) both coming from very old vines in two different locations in the north-east of Rioja. Unusually, the Tempranillo vines are in bush format and the Grenache/Garnacha is on low trellises. However, the stylistic integrity is completely obvious in both parcels delivering the gorgeous layers of flavours in each glass.

The wine is made with 25-30% whole bunches that undergo 3-4 days cold soak prior to a spontaneous fermentation in small open vats. Gentle hand-plunging twice every day gives the wines a gentle extraction. A short maceration on skins after the alcoholic fermentation takes place before pressing of the whole juice into old French barriques.

This is made by two very special Allotment friends, Celbridge native Fergal Tynan (who is probably Kildare's only Master of Wine) and his chum Giles Cooke (another Master of Wine). They run several winemaking projects around the world, mostly with the aim to promote as much Grenache as the world can provide, in Australia, France and Spain. This is a particularly lovely project - de Alto Amo literally meaning "High Master" - or "High Love" - and is a reference to the search for the highest quality and highest altitude vineyard sites that the winery can access.