Notes from Alimentaria:

"Sierra de Tolono is a member of an exciting but small cadre of new Rioja producers who are driving towards fresher, more terroir focused wines that place their emphasis on the vineyards rather than on the length of time any particular wine spends in a barrel. Run and owned by the indomitable Sandra Bravo, Sierra de Tolono produces incredibly elegant wines from old plots dotted around the cold, high altitude lands around the town of Rivas de Tereso, in Rioja Alavesa. Her single vineyard offerings show the sort of detail and complexity that old vineyards in these parts can produce but she’s also making some of the best value, quaff-able but serious, Rioja getting around.

In the old days, this part of Rioja had quite a bit of Garnacha. Now it's something of a rarity. This is a single vineyard plot planted in 1944 just outside the town of Rivas de Tereso at around 700m altitude. Fermented and aged in 300L amphora, it's full of bright, high-toned Garnacha fruit, raspberry, red cherry and delicate florals. Whilst the nose  speaks of the lightness of Garnacha, the palate harks straight back to the austere mineral nature of this village. Long, tightly wound and serious on the palate."