Cortijo Tinto 2011

Cortijo Tinto is a bright, fresh red wine produced by David Sampedro in the Rioja DOCa. Rioja is Spain’s most prestigious region and for younger or neophyte wine drinkers who want to learn more about this magical, storybook wine region, its grapes and its wines, there’s no better an introduction than Cortijo Tinto. Cortijo means ‘cottage’ or ‘shack,’ a reference by the emerging young winemaker David Sampedro that his shack makes better wine than most high-flown Chateaux in Rioja. David improves the quality of his wines by doing better work in his vineyards, the place where the grapes come from. David says, "If you want to make better wine, harvest better grapes." Rather than build a chateau or a beautiful tasting room, he’d rather pay to take care of the only meaningful ingredient, the grapes. Beginning with the 2009 vintage, Cortijo is made with estate grapes. The goal is to show a naked, unadorned expression of Tempranillo and Garnacha from Rioja Alta with no interference of oak. Cortijo is a sort of “non-profit organization” for David as opposed to most of his other wines, which are super-premium cuvées that collectors kill for. Cortijo is David's way of introducing people to great wine from Rioja at a value price.