Sierra de Tolono Rioja Tempranillo Rose 2025

Sierra de Tolono Rioja Tempranillo Rose 2025

Sierra de Tolono
$20.00

Grape: Tempranillo
Vintage: 2025
Type: Rosé

This dry rosé is an altitude-driven wine produced by Sandra Bravo from old tempranillo vines grown on the high limestone terraces of Rioja Alavesa. Grapes are harvested early in the morning to lock in mountain freshness, followed by a direct whole-bunch press with zero skin maceration. The juice ferments spontaneously with native wild vineyard yeasts at cool temperatures inside small concrete vats, avoiding oak wood markup. This zero-makeup process focuses on capturing a high-elevation snapshot of the site without heavy extraction.

It pours a pale salmon-pink color with silver rims, opening with fresh aromas of wild strawberry, white peach, and alpine wildflowers. On the palate, the light-bodied frame is exceptionally crisp and fluid, delivering a red fruit profile across a weightless mouthfeel. A crystalline core of razor-sharp limestone acidity cuts directly through the center, keeping the profile fresh. The concrete fermentation imparts a chalky texture that coats mid-palate cleanly.

Sierra de Tolono is Sandra Bravo's Rioja Alavesa project, based in the high, limestone-rich foothills below the Sierra de Cantabria. After working in several regions, Bravo returned to make wines that express the cooler, more Atlantic side of Rioja through old vines, organic farming and parcel selection around villages such as Rivas de Tereso. Her cellar work avoids the heavy oak signatures associated with classic Rioja, favoring native fermentations, concrete, amphora and used wood. The wines are fresh, floral and precise, built around Tempranillo, Garnacha, Viura and the mountain wind that preserves acidity in this part of the region.