ESCONDITE DEL ARDACHO
2019 El Abundillano Tentenublo
| Grapes | Tempranillo, Garnacha |
| Colour | Red |
| Origin | Spain, Rioja |
| District | Alavesa |
| ABV | 15.5% |
| Vineyard | El Abundillano |
El Abundillano - a water fountain - is the name of the parcel as well as the wine here, located at 620 metres. Picked late, this old-vine blend of Garnacha with 10% Tempranillo and Malvasía is high in alcohol yet extremely fresh, with deep colour, ageworthy tannins, damson and black cherry fruit and bracing acidity. Rating: 95 Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.com (Feb 2021)
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DELIVERY SERVICE
We offer free nationwide delivery on all orders over £150 (excluding Highlands & Islands). Express Delivery options also available.Tentenublo
Roberto Oliván is the force behind Tentenublo, and he is one of the growing band of Rioja winemakers who are much more interested in making extraordinary wines from single sites rather than volume blends. He has some vines which are in the family, and has gathered together many little vineyard plots around Viñaspre, his home village, near Lanciego in Rioja Alavesa. The high altitude helps define the brightly-defined style of his wines.
The name 'Tentenublo' comes from ringing bells - in Rioja, bells are rung to ward off hailstorms (to what effect is less clear) - which accounts for the animated bell chasing a rather blobby-looking hail cloud on the label. With the Xérico label - a wonderfully nineteenth century looking masterpiece which has a picture of a different ancestor of Roberto's in each vintage, these make up the bigger cuvées that he makes.
The second main line he calls Escondite del Ardacho, after a local lizard. So far he has released four wines from different parcels around Viñaspre and each with different grape mixes under this label, so you have to look carefully for the cuvée name...
Finally (at least for now), there are some new wines released under the Los Corrillos label, the blending of some of the Viñaspre plots.
For anyone used to the rather bland merchant blends of Rioja, these wines might be described as 'challenging', but if you are prepared to give them time to open up in the glass, to try them with food, you will be rewarded by the great complexity and individuality that they offer.
The Rioja Collection
As the evenings get darker and the nights colder, we instinctively reach for the deep, comforting, and familiar reds of Rioja. It’s the ultimate winter warmer. But what if that 'familiar' wine is in the middle of an exciting revolution? This 12-bottle case (two of each wine) is a journey through Rioja's past, present, and future, serving as the perfect collection for wintery evenings of discovery.
The New Guard: The case is led by the new generation of producers who are redefining Spanish wine. At the forefront is Sandra Bravo of Sierra de Toloño, voted 2019 'Young Winemaker of the Year' by Tim Atkin MW. We've included three of her stunning, high-altitude wines that showcase her quest for 'freshness and purity,' using vessels like amphorae to let the terroir shine.
She is joined by the Artuke brothers, who blend traditional foot-treading with modern concrete fermenters to craft their vibrant, fruit-forward style. And from Roberto Oliván of Tentenublo, a 'terroirist' obsessed with single-site wines, comes 'Escondite del Ardacho', a world away from 'bland merchant blends.'
The Classic: To perfectly frame this new wave and provide that classic, cosy fireside sip, we’ve anchored the case with a benchmark traditional red: two bottles of the 2014 Bodegas Ruconia Reserva. This is the style you know and love, perfectly aged and brimming with complex notes of 'liquorice, coffee... leather... and cedar.'
This collection contains two bottles of each of the following six wines:
2x 2024 NAHIKUN, Sierra de Toloño
2x 2023 'ARTUKE' Rioja
2x 2019 'ESCONDITE DEL ARDACHO', Tentenublo
2x 2023 'LA DULA' GARNACHAS DE ALTURA, Sierra de Toloño
2x 2022 RIOJA ALAVESA, Sierra de Toloño
2x 2014 RIOJA RESERVA, Bodegas Ruconia
- For full delivery details see our Delivery page.
- We offer free nationwide* delivery for all orders over £150 with our own vans. We also offer an express delivery service for an additional charge.
- Order & Collect from any of our 5 London shops. Order by Midnight for collection the next working day from 11am.
- Private wine storage: we offer a full In Bond and Duty Paid private wine storage service - find out more here.
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Tim Atkin MW, www.timatkin.comORDER COLLECT
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