Señorío de San Vicente - San Vicente Rioja 1994

San Vicente is perhaps the Eguren family’s most well known wine, as it was the wine that elevated them to superstar status. At a time when Rioja producers were entrenched in a classic style of production, Marcos and Miguel Angel Eguren strove to produce a Bordeaux styled single vineyard wine. The tradition in Rioja was blending vineyard and varieties, which lost the identity of single vineyards in the resulting wines. Marcos and Miguel Angel selected one of their finest and most unique vineyards, Finca La Canoca, to produce San Vicente. Located in a tiny valley at the foothills of the Sierra Cantabria, Finca La Canoca is 100% Tempranillo Peludo planted one extremely high density trellises. The specific clone of Tempranillo, combined with the vineyards location produced a different expression that the Eguren family sought to highlight in this wine, that was built form the vineyard. The vineyard is located in a tiny valley on the northern fringes of what is considered to be an acceptable location for growing grapes in Rioja Alavesa. Any closer to the Sierra Cantabria mountain range, and the grapes would have trouble ripening. However, the altitude produces an elegant, lively wine with deep character and concentration.

In 1991, when they began working on the project, there were no single vineyard Rioja wines. After the success of San Vicente, all of the great Rioja producers followed suit, declassifying their top, flagship wines from the typical Rioja ageing system, and focusing on specific vineyards. The Eguren family were the first to combat this outdated ageing system, as there is nothing inherent about ageing that makes wine better. San Vicente is a unique wine which marries the modern intensity of fruit and concentration with classic Old-World style Rioja aromatics of mountain herbs and licorice.

The philosophy of this project is one vineyard, one cellar, one wine. 30 days of maceration, aged for 20 months in American oak barrels, and bottled without filtration.

"This was the first great vintage for Spain's emerging "modern" style, and this wine epitomizes its virtues. Generous, round and polished, with ripe plum and dried fig flavors, balanced by licorice, cigar box, spice and mineral notes that echo on the long finish. The well-integrated tannins are still firm, promising a long road ahead." - 97 Points, Wine Spectator

"The dense garnet-colored 1994 Rioja, which will be released in several months, appears to have a 10-12 year plateau of drinkability. The extraordinary aromatics consist of ripe, jammy fruits intermixed with smoke, cedar, tobacco, and spice. Admirable lushness and elegance that are suave and refined, supple tannin, and layers of richness yet an overall restraint, make me wonder if this is not a Rioja made in the image of a Chateau Margaux, where richness is combined with elegance. Interestingly, the owners refused to declare any wine in the difficult Rioja vintages of 1992 and 1993. This winery should be followed closely, as the seamless, complex, enthralling 1991s and 1994s evidence. This single-vineyard, luxury Rioja is the brainchild of the Eguren family. The 45-acre vineyard possesses much denser vine spacing than most Rioja vineyards (about 4500 vines per hectare), and is planted at a high altitude of nearly 1600 feet. Although made from young vines (12 years), the wine is given at least 30 days of maceration, aged for 20 months in American oak barrels, and bottled without filtration. Less than 1000 cases were made of the 1991, but in 1994, the winery was in full production and produced just over 6000 cases. This looks to be one of the more stunning, newer-styled Riojas to emerge from Spain. Readers should take note, as I suspect prices will only go up." - 94 Points, Wine Advocate

Producer: Señorío de San Vicente

Country: Spain

Region: La Rioja

Varietal: Tempranillo

Appellation: Rioja

Vintage: 1994

Size: 750ml