Sierra de Tolono Camino de Santa Cruz 2021

Sierra de Tolono Camino de Santa Cruz 2021

Sierra de Tolono
$50.00

Grape: Tempranillo
Vintage: 2021
Type: Red

This low-intervention red wine is a pure varietal expression of tempranillo sourced from a single zero-point-two hectare parcel in Rivas de Tereso. Located seven-hundred meters above sea level in Rioja Alavesa, the vineyard is managed under certified organic viticulture protocols. Winemaker Sandra Bravo utilizes a hands-off cellar approach, allowing a spontaneous fermentation driven by native wild yeasts. It undergoes a natural maturation process inside a combination of old, used foudres and traditional clay amphorae.

It pour a deep ruby color, releasing fragrant aromatics of lavender, fresh rosemary, and wild damson plums over a background of stone. A medium-bodied frame balances concentrated dark fruit flavors with a firm, sinewy tannin framework. A clean line of mountain acidity cuts directly through the volume, maintaining excellent freshness across the textured mid-palate. Savory layers of limestone earth add depth across the fluid core without feeling heavy or extracted.

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.