Rioja, isn't that mainly Tempranillo?
Garnacha from Rioja? Yes indeed!
Before the phylloxera struck in the early 1900s, Rioja was full of… Garnatxa, as the Grenache grape is called in Catalan. If you take the time, you will still find old vineyards with Garnacha, untouched by the devastating phylloxera. Luis Moya Tortosa is the idiosyncratic winemaker who rescued these vineyards from oblivion, restored them and put them back into use. With truly astonishing results! Lekker Sapje now carries 1 organic wine from him: La Tapada .
La Tapada, the hidden one
“La Tapada” is the name of a vineyard in Azagra, a village in Rioja Oriental (formerly Rioja Baja). The viticulture here is often modern, including irrigation and mechanization. But La Tapada is one of the few vineyards with traditional bush vines , free-standing plants. The name La Tapada means covered or enclosed and refers to how Garnatxa was considered a hidden and even reviled grape variety in Rioja.
The vineyard has a north-eastern location with a slight slope. The soil is calcareous with pebbles. The climate is Mediterranean with less than 350 mm of precipitation per year. With La Tapada, Luis Moya shows that Garnacha offers great potential here. Old winemakers already knew that when they planted this hidden vineyard.
Grenache, Garnacha, Garnatxa
Grenache often gives a lot of alcohol and this wine also has 15%. But this is neatly 'packaged' in a both slender and full wine. Light red hue, unfiltered, firm but ripe tannins. Currant, rins, laurel, toast, a hint of smoke, layered and complex. Give it some time in the glass.
“We don’t invent the wine. Everything is pure nature.”
After an 'education' behind the bar, studies in oenology, viticulture and wine marketing, and work for wine cooperatives in Navarra, Luis Moya Tortosa (LMT) started his own business in 2012. At several locations in Rioja and Navarra he cultivates old vineyards with Garnacha (Grenache), planted as bush vine. LMT uses no herbicides or insecticides at all. Everything revolves around naturalness and balance.
In his words: “I make my wines completely artisanally with indigenous yeast. I control the fermentation temperature a little, looking for low extraction. I do not clarify the wines and only filter very carefully, if necessary. Stabilization happens naturally, cold and winter weather are my allies. We do not invent the wines, they are uncontrived. I think this is the only way to reflect the soil and the microclimate of the vineyard." Taste it yourself and order this beautiful red wine.
In his words: “I make my wines completely artisanally with indigenous yeast. I control the fermentation temperature a little, looking for low extraction. I do not clarify the wines and only filter very carefully, if necessary. Stabilization happens naturally, cold and winter weather are my allies. We do not invent the wines, they are uncontrived. I think this is the only way to reflect the soil and the microclimate of the vineyard." Taste it yourself and order this beautiful red wine.
More about LMT