Dominio Del Challao "Angelita Del Challao" 2021

Critical Acclaim: 95 pts James Suckling; 93 pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate.

About the Winery: Dominio del Challao is unlike almost anything else in Rioja.   If you’ve written off Rioja in the past, this bottle might completely change your perspective. For years, an emphasis on new American oak shaped much of the region’s output, often layering wines with pronounced notes of dill, coconut, and vanilla that could overshadow the character of the vineyards themselves. Angelita del Challao tells a very different story. Sourced from old vines in some of the highest and most revered sites above the village of Labastida in Rioja Alta, it reflects a landscape that feels both rugged and timeless. Labastida, with its narrow lanes, aged stone buildings, and vineyards etched into the surrounding slopes, seems removed from modern haste. Up here, the elements set the pace, and the wine speaks more of altitude, soil, and quiet endurance than of barrel influence.

Tasting Notes: "A reticent, mineral nose, showing chalk, crushed shells and dried herbs to the subtle red-berry fruit. Medium- to full-bodied on the palate but very tight with upright, savory and stemmy tannins. There is a stony sensibility here. Extremely long, nicely chewy and austere. A blend of tempranillo, whole-cluster garnacha, graciano and other varieties. From a Labastida vineyard planted in 1945. Drink from 2027." - James Suckling.

"The 2021 Angelita del Challao, the red village wine from Labastida, comes from the vineyards in the lower part of the village on deeper soils with more clay, and it still has a moderate 12.7% alcohol and great freshness (denoted by a pH of 3.4), balance and elegance. They have included one more vineyard in this cool year, a plot that was contributing to Challao before. All of the reds ferment with a portion of stems (the Tempranillo never more than 20%), all the plots separately and aged separately for one year, then they blend the wine and put it back in the barrels of different sizes and foudre to complete some 20 months. This is a nice blending exercise, with a little more volume and juiciness but still a mineral, serious, chalky mouthfeel. It's smoky and showy, with darker fruit than the rest of the reds. It's approximately 80% Tempranillo and the rest Garnacha, Mazuelo, Viura, Garnacha Blanca and other mixed varieties. 21,581 bottles and some larger formats produced. It was bottled in November 2023."- Robert Parker's Wine Advocate.

Varietal: Tempranillo.