Located 2.5 hours north of Madrid near the village of Navarrete in Rioja Alta, the vines that go into making Finca Nueva’s Reserva are on average 35 years old and strategically planted in a north-northeast-facing direction. Containing a climate that is influenced by the nearby Atlantic Ocean, Rioja Alta is known for prolonged periods of maturation, creating ideal growing conditions for Tempranillo, an earlyripening varietal. Comprising of 50% estate-grown fruit, these vines are either trellised or head-pruned and always planted close together, increasing nutrient competition. Rioja Alta’s unique terroir comprises a mixture of chalky, calcium-rich and ferrous-clay, to rocky and alluvial soils. The 39 acres of vineyards controlled by Miguel Ángel de Gregorio for production at Finca Nueva, are organically fertilized and farmed sustainably. During harvest, clusters are hand-picked and manually sorted. Grapes are destemmed and left uncrushed before being placed in stainless steel tanks for a cold, prefermentary maceration at 41°F over 6 days. After this time, fermentation with native yeasts occurs in stainless steel tanks at 82°F over 10 days. Daily manual pump-overs take place three times a day, for a total skin maceration of 16 days. The finished wine is drained from tank using gravity and then pressed using a traditional vertical press. Malolactic fermentation is performed in tank and the resulting wine is aged for 24 months in French and American oak barrels, which are racked every 4 months. After oak aging, the wine is left un-fined before it is aged extensively in bottle in underground metal cages. While a “Reserva” must only be aged for 3 years, winemaker Miguel Ángel prefers to age his wines several years longer, making them soft on the palate and ready to consume upon release.