An amazing journey back 100 years into the original way in which local wine was made. Oddly…read moreenough, their wine is still made the same way and using much of the same equipment and processing facilities from those years. They are the last winery in Spain still pressing grapes from their own plots with their feet, at their XV century cave.
Jose, the winemaker and son of the owner, Valentín Pascual, was our host for the tour and tasting. We coordinated the visit through email and he was willing to open on Sunday for our visit.
Our visit began with Jose opening a stone door in the floor to dip a glass into one of the century old vats of between 7,000 and 10,000 liters of capacity vats which reside under the foundation of the street-level floor. Remarkably, it was the most recent vintage and it was a hugely fruit forward, carbonic maceration wine.
This winery produces under the streets around the main plaza in town. A living museum of totally artisan wine production. Jose's grandfather, Don José María Pascual, the third generation of the family, installed a bottling machine that is still being used.
They produce one red wine, Valentín Pascual. Tempranillo and Grenache grape selected from their own vineyards with an average of 50 years. Cherry red color with purple hues. Nose highlights aromas of black fruit and flowers, with light notes of citrus. In the mouth it is tasty and smooth and well balanced, with a good body and a long finish. Aged 5 months in the vats before bottling.
Much of their production is made into Vermouth at a local processing facility where the alcohol content gets much higher.
This was the most interesting tour of a wine facility during our 3 week, 25 winery journey around La Rioja. Just 20 minutes outside of Logroño, La Rioja,, it is a MUST SEE for any visitor.
