Winemaker Notes
Blend: 93% Tempranillo, 5% Graciano, 2% Maturana Tinta
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
Hailing from a cool vintage, the 2016 Finca Valpiedra is a delicate blend of 93% Tempranillo, 5% Graciano and 2% Maturana Tinta, sourced from a single vineyard situated on the Ebro riverbank within the Cenicero area of Rioja Alta. This garnet-red wine, aged for 24 months in French oak barrels, offers a tertiary bouquet with notes of licorice, sour cherry and mushroom, accompanied by hints of dried herbs. On the palate, it reveals a dry and silky texture, with a fairly aqueous and grippy mouthfeel that lingers with earthy nuances. Valpiedra epitomizes the character of Rioja's river wines, where gravel soils contribute to a moderately concentrated yet elegantly structured palate.
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James Suckling
A pretty complex nose filled with blueberries and cranberries followed by some baking spices, mineral, undergrowth, dark walnuts and dried flowers. Crunchy, medium- to full-bodied and bright on the palate with excellent acidity that gives it a nicely tart-berry character and mouthwatering quality. Sappy, tight and well-framed with a lengthy finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The nose of the 2016 Finca Valpiedra Reserva has notes of traditional Rioja with a more modern twist and is clean, expressive and nuanced, with some toasty notes, black fruit, herbs and spices. It was produced with a blend of 93% Tempranillo, 5% Graciano and 3% Maturana Tinta with a moderate 13% alcohol and very good freshness giving it a medium-bodied palate and a fine-boned mouthfeel. It matured in new and used French barriques for 24 months. 75,000 bottles produced. It should develop nicely in bottle. It was bottled in October 2019 and is still young and lively.
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Wine Enthusiast
This ruby-colored wine has a bouquet of black currant, tobacco leaf and a hint of green bell pepper. There is a savory, earthy quality on the palate underlying cranberry, pomegranate, dark chocolate and dried thyme and sage flavors. Plush tannins and brilliant acidity linger harmoniously after each sip.
Hailed as the star red variety in Spain’s most celebrated wine region, Tempranillo from Rioja, or simply labeled, “Rioja,” produces elegant wines with complex notes of red and black fruit, crushed rock, leather, toast and tobacco, whose best examples are fully capable of decades of improvement in the cellar.
Rioja wines are typically a blend of fruit from its three sub-regions: Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Oriental, although specific sub-region (zonas), village (municipios) and vineyard (viñedo singular) wines can now be labeled. Rioja Alta and Alavesa, at the highest elevations, are considered to be the source of the brightest, most elegant fruit, while grapes from the warmer and drier, Rioja Oriental, produce wines with deep color, great body and richness.