About this WINE
Telmo Rodriguez
Telmo Rodriguez is one of the great Spanish winemakers. He travelled and learnt for many years before returning home to Rioja. In addition, he supervises négociant projects throughout Spain. One of his most acclaimed projects is in Ribera del Duero.
The charismatic Telmo has something of the prodigal about him, having now returned to his Riojan homestead to energise the great house of Remelluri. One should not overlook, however, his other properties, which explore some of the lesser-known areas of Spain and in each case seek to make superlative and characterful wines. Ribera del Duero is far from a lesser-known area, so it is to Telmo’s great credit, but to no-one’s surprise, that the wines he makes at Matallana are amongst the very best here too.
Tempranillo/Tinto Fino
A high quality red wine grape that is grown all over Spain except in the hot South - it is known as Tinto Fino in Ribera del Duero, Cencibel in La Mancha and Valdepenas and Ull de Llebre in Catalonia. Its spiritual home is in Rioja and Navarra where it constitutes around 70% of most red blends.
Tempranillo-based wines tend to have a spicy, herbal, tobacco-like character accompanied by ripe strawberry and red cherry fruits. It produces fresh, vibrantly fruit driven "jovenes" meant for drinking young. However Tempranillo really comes into its own when oak aged, as with the top Riojas where its flavours seem to harmonise perfectly with both French and American oak, producing rich, powerful and concentrated wines which can be extraordinarily long-lived.
In Ribera del Duero it generally sees less oak - the exception being Vega Sicilia where it is blended with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot and then aged for an astonishing 7 years in oak and is unquestionably one of the world`s greatest wines.
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Description
The reputation and influence of Telmo Rodriguez continue to grow, but Altos Lanzaga demonstrates the great man’s willingness to cede the limelight to terroir, varietal and vintage. Tempranillo, Garnacha and Graciano grapes are sourced from four vineyards around Lanciego, a town of approximately 650 people in the Rioja Alavesa subzone.
Fermentation takes place in concrete vats, in a winery designed not to insulate, but to expose the liquid (throughout its transition from juice to wine) to the air – fresh and often very cold at 600 metres above sea level. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentations unfold at their own sedate pace and, after bottling, the “finished” wine takes some time to reveal the full spectrum of its charms.
That said, this boasts tremendous complexity and balance even in its youth, with aromas of smoke and tar underlying those of plum and blackcurrant. Quietly confident on the palate: a little closed now but promising real richness and generosity in middle age. The finish is predictably long. To be privy to its evolution over the next decade or so would be truly marvellous.
Will Heslop, Wine Buying
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