Bodegas Pujanza Norte 2016
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Parker
Robert -
Suckling
James
Product Details
Your Rating
Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
Intense cherry-red color with violet glints. Clear and bright. Wild berries, spices and well-integrated oak. Wild and complex red with palate-tingling acidity, chalky freshness and flavors of plum and damson embellished by stylish French barrel notes.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Norte is named after the orientation of the plot of its Tempranillo grapes grow. I visited the vineyard, one of the higher-altitude vineyards in Rioja Alavesa, at around 720 meters above sea level, right next to the mountain. It's a wild and windy place where they suffer the attacks of wild boars and deer, a place where the vines are healthy and the grapes ripen quite a lot but keep very good acidity. It's a powerful wine, as this vintage saw perhaps some 30% new barrels for the élevage that lasted 14 months. It's a ripe and powerful, still marked by the oak, but the palate is not hard; the tannins are quite polished, and there's refreshing acidity that keeps it very balanced. This is a modern red Rioja with stuffing and balance to develop nicely in bottle. It opened up in the glass, developing some floral aromas and further complexity, showing more integrated. This was first bottled in 1999, the second vintage of the winery.
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James Suckling
Lots of elderberry reduction, vanilla and smoke here. Full-bodied and very concentrated, but drawing on enough tangy acidity and structured tannins to pull this through.
Other Vintages
2017-
Spectator
Wine -
Suckling
James
Founded by Carlos San Pedro in 1998 at the age of 25 with 15 Hectares inherited from his family, Bodegas Pujanza has become in just over two decades a true “First-Growth” in Rioja Alavesa, making unforgettable estate-grown single-vineyard, high-altitude wines that showcase exuberant fruit, finesse and beautiful integration. Over the years, Carlos tirelessly sourced and acquired some of the most unique old-vine plots in the region adding up to nearly 40 Hectares.
Carlos San Pedro's wines have been internationally recognized by the world's top critics, consistently applauding his dedication to crafting truly authentic Rioja Alavesa wines where each parcel's unique soil and characteristics are directly translated into the personality of the wine.