This wine comes from proprietary vineyards located around the towns of San Vicente de la Sonsierra and Laguardia at an altitude of 1,860 ft above sea level. Soils are calcareous clay with gravel. Deep red, with purple fringe. The nose offers up a great array of aromas: mocha, mulberry, walnutty oak, earth, vanilla and currents. In the mouth the tannins are fine and dusty, smooth and supple texture and fine balance. Really great fruit characters of mulberry and cherry with some cola, spice and undergrowth. This is fairly classic rioja with a touch of modern craftsmanship. The wine undergoes 22 days maceration with two pump-overs daily during the first 8 days and a light pump-over with reduced frequency after that to avoid extraction of bitter characters. Temperature controlled fermentation. Aged 6 months in tank and 6 months in 2-3 years old Bordelaise barrels of American and French oak.