Altos R Pigeage Tempranillo Rioja 2020

This 2020 vintage of the flagship red of Altos, has won multiple Golds including Grand Gold and 96pts. Haut-Brion-trained winemaker, Jean-Marc Sauboua, co-founded Altos in 2006 and, all together they’ve won over 300 Golds, four Trophies, plus many high scores. He works with Amaia Amestoy, who gained experience at Rioja’s iconic Marqués de Riscal and Priorat’s Alvaro Palacios before joining Altos. The wine is made from old-vine (80+ years) Tempranillo and Graciano, vinified using Burgundy’s pigeage method. This involves fermenting in open vats and plunging the skins into the liquid three times a day – hands-on winemaking that delivers great results. Aged for two years in half new French oak, the rest in older barrels, plus 10% in amphorae, all bottled unfiltered, the wine offers seams of intense black fruit with spice-box complexity.