Álvaro Loza Cien Reales 2023

Álvaro Loza, born in La Rioja but having travelled all over the world, returned to his home region to launch his personal project in 2019.

‘Cien Reales’ is the name of the vineyard planted 30 years ago in Labastida, some 530 metres above sea level. It is a terrace on sandstone rock facing east, overlooking the Sierra de Toloño. The soil here is shallow, consisting mainly of calcareous sand; at a depth of 40 cm, sandstone boulders lie on a layer of marl, which in turn covers calcium carbonate at a depth of just 80 cm. The vineyard is surrounded by local aromatic plants typical of the low hills, such as thyme, rosemary, lavender and juniper.

The grapes are harvested by hand and 70 per cent of the bunches are destemmed, leaving the whole berries to ferment in 1,000-litre open vats alongside the remaining third of whole bunches. As with all our wines, gentle manual punching down is carried out daily throughout the 35-day fermentation period. The wine is then aged for 16 months in a new 500-litre French oak barrel.

Just 599 numbered bottles of this impressive red wine!