Señorío de San Vicente - San Vicente Rioja 2020

In the early 1980’s, Marcos and Miguel Angel Eguren requested that their father scour the family’s 100 Ha of vineyards in San Vicente de la Sonsierra for the lowest yielding individual vines of Tempranillo. In 1985, the family planted the 18 Ha. La Canoca single vineyard in San Vicente to a massal selection of these low yielding plants. As the vineyard took shape, the vines all shared similar ampelographic characteristics – smaller berries, looser clusters, and a velvety bloom on the subsurface of the leaves. The family was mocked for planting a selection of their “worst vines.” When the first vintage of San Vicente was commercialized almost 10 years later, the family endured more derision when the wine was priced above any Reserva in the appellation. The following year, the wine was released without ageing classification, becoming Rioja’s first single cru ageing declassified wine. For lovers of the Eguren family’s wines, San Vicente tends to elicit a special emotion as one of Rioja's first exhaustive projects to release a premium cuvée that expressed the character of a specific vineyard cru. Today, San Vicente is recognized as one of the appellations most important modern classics.

Aging 20 months in new Bordelaise barrels of French oak (90 %) and American oak (10 %).

Garnet red cherry. Delicate nose, good reduction and toasty creamy notes with rich licorice flavors and mountain herbs in this generous red, offering and elegant palate, fresh with well integrated tannins and a smooth finish.

 "If there is a wine that embodies the terroir-driven focus since the 1990s, it's San Vicente. The 2020 San Vicente is 100% Tempranillo Peludo, distinguished by its velvety leaves. Sourced from the San Vicente vineyard in the Canoca Valley, San Vicente de la Sonsierra, it aged for 20 months in French (90%) and American (10%) oak barrels. This purplish wine offers ripe black fruit aromas and wild herb notes against an oak backdrop. Dry, juicy and taut, the light and fine-grained tannins linger long. A nuanced, modern Rioja, this wine is a masterpiece of Marcos Eguren's winemaking technique—a truly elegant Tempranillo. Drink: 2024-2040." - 96 Points, Vinous

"Coming all from a massale selection of Tempranillo (Peludo Tempranillo) and aged 20 months in new barrique, the 2020 San Vicente is deep purple-hued and reveals a beautiful nose of cassis and assorted darker, almost blue fruits supported by classy oak, graphite, and crushed stone-like minerality. It's beautifully concentrated, medium to full-bodied, has fine tannins, and a great finish. This pure, clean, incredibly impressive Rioja will benefit from 3-4 years of bottle age and evolve for two decades. Drink: 2027-2048." - 96 Points, Jeb Dunnuck

Producer: Señorío de San Vicente

Country: Spain

Region: La Rioja

Varietal: Tempranillo

Appellation: Rioja

Vintage: 2020

Size: 750ml