Bodega Bideona Rioja Alavesa L4GD4 Vinas Viejas 2020 750ml

ABOUT Bideona’s village wine series is intended to showcase the differences in character among the great, historic wine villages of Rioja Alavesa. This series also highlights a senseless regulation of the Denominación de Origen, which allows the use of a village name by the location of the winery – the building – and not the vineyards. Despite having full traceability of each vineyard parcel, Bideona cannot legally use village names on the labels. As a clever workaround, they have substituted all village names with acronyms that they have registered as brands. Thus, ‘Laguardia’ becomes L4GD4. This Tempranillo field blend comes from old vineyards planted at 1,400 feet above sea level overlooking the Ebro Valley. Ripening tends to be the earliest among Bideona’s villages and the wines are the most elegant and perfumed in the village wine series. Laguardia is also the most approachable and gastronomic wine in this series, due to its lighter, velvety tannins and juiciness on the palate. The grapes were hand harvested in small crates and then manually sorted on a sorting table before being de-stemmed. Alcoholic and malolactic fermentations were carried out in stainless-steel tanks via a mix of indigenous yeast and a house cultured yeast strain. Gentle pump-overs were done to maximize personality without high extraction of color or tannins. The wine was pressed off the skins and was sent to a mix of stainless-steel, concrete, new oak, and used oak for 12 months of aging. It was bottled with a coarse filtration and very gentle sulfur addition. No fining. DATA Grapes: Tempranillo & other field blend varieties Vineyard: Various plots within the Laguardia village Vine Age: Average: 50-years-old Soil Type: Calcareous clay Viticulture: Practicing organic Fermentation: Native & inoculated with house-cultured yeasts – stainless-steel (100% de-stemmed) Aging: 12 months in a mix of stainless steel, concrete, bigger and smaller oak vessels (mostly used, some new) Alcohol: 14% pH: 3.68 Total Acidity: 4.9 g/L Total SO2: 30 ppm Total Production: 270 cases UPC: 8437000693802 TASTING NOTE Laguardia is an approachable, gastronomic wine, due to its lighter, velvety tannins and juiciness on the palate. The aromatic profile is always lifted, delicate and floral – reminiscent of wild strawberries and violets. The finish is elegant and linear. PRESS James Suckling | 93 Vinous | 94