Obalo Crianza
WINE 5
JUICY & GREAT RIOJA
Obalo belongs to the new style in Rioja, "los modernistas". The wine is very accessible and berry-driven - dense, meaty and focused with tones of plum, ribs, clover, herbs, fine acid and a little oak. The grapes are hand harvested and double sorted. The different parcels from which the grapes come are kept individually all the way to final mixing. Different types of barrels are used when storing this wine; some are new, others have been used both once or several times. This results in a slow integration of the different characteristics of the barrels, and it is clearly felt in the balance of the wine.
SAFTIG & LÆKKER RIOJA
Obalo hører til den nye stil i Rioja, ”los modernistas”. Vinen er meget tilgængelig og bærdrevet - tæt, kødfuld og fokuseret med toner af blomme, ribs, kløver, krydderurter, fin syre og en anelse egefad. Druerne håndhøstes og dobbeltsorteres. De forskellige parceller, druerne kommer fra, holdes hver for sig hele vejen til afsluttende blanding. Der bruges forskellige typer af fad, når denne vin lagrer; nogle er nye, andre er blevet brugt både én eller flere gange. Dette resulterer i en langsom integrering af fadenes forskellige karakterer, og det fornemmes tydeligt i balancen i vinen.
FACTS
Country: Spain
Region: Rioja
Winery: Bodegas Obalo
Year: 2018
Type: Red
Grapes: Tempranillo
Alcohol: 14,5%
Aging: Oak barrels & 2 years on bottle
Closure: Cork
Winemaking: Traditional
ABOUT THE WINERY
BODEGAS OBALO
The winery is newly built from 2006 and is located high on the hillside, on the border between Rioja Alta and Alavesa at the village of Obalos, with the Sierra Cantabria mountain range shielding from the cold from the north in the back. At the same time, the Sonsier Mountains direct Atlantic air from the west, which mitigates climate extremes. The location of the vines at 400-700 m altitude ensures the vital difference between day and night temperatures, providing elegance and acidity, even in heavy wines. The microclimate and sun exposure of individual parcels are taken into account by always hand harvesting, double-sorting the fruit and vinifying each parcel for themselves. Here the Tempranillo grape and French oak are favored instead of American.
Vingården er nybygget fra 2006 og ligger højt på bjergsiden, på grænsen mellem Rioja Alta- og Alavesa ved landsbyen Obalos, med Sierra Cantabria bjergkæden, der skærmer mod kulde nordfra, i ryggen. Sonsierrabjergene leder samtidig Atlanterhavsluft ind fra vest, som mildner ekstremer i klimaet. Vinstokkenes beliggenhed i 400-700 m.s højde sikrer den vitale forskel mellem dag- og nattemperaturer, der giver elegance og syrespil, selv i kraftige vine. Der tages hensyn til de enkelte parcellers mikroklima og soleksponering ved altid at håndhøste, dobbeltsortere frugten og vinificere hver parcel for sig selv. Her favoriseres Tempranillo-druen og fransk eg i stedet for amerikansk.
Tempranillo
For a long time Tempranillo was ignored by the outside world as a slightly rustic northern Spanish grape of strictly local appeal. It was in the mid 1990s when I was granted my one and only audience with the Gallos in northern California that I realised the grape was now of international interest. Almost as soon as I had sunk into the crimson velour depths of the company limo I was interrogated about my thoughts on Tempranillo. Clearly the world's biggest wine company had it in their sights.
Until the 1990s most red rioja tasted more of oak than grapes. The traditional way of making rioja – ageing for years and years in small, vanilla-scented American oak barrels – disguised Tempranillo's own flavour. But since bodegas in Rioja have seriously begun to age their wines for much shorter periods in French oak, and also to export young (Joven) unoaked wines, wine lovers the world over have started to come to grips with the essence of Tempranillo itself.
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