Bodegas Montecillo’s most special wine is a Gran Reserva from 2008 which is made in tribute to the winery’s founder.
Montecillo 22 Barricas Gran Reserva 2008 has been awarded 91 Parker points in The Wine Advocate and 90 points by James Suckling.
Montecillo 22 Barricas Gran Reserva 2008 was created in homage to the winery’s founder, Celestino Navajas, who, almost 150 years ago, used to set aside the wine from the smallest vat to age in 22 oak barrels. His philosophy and legacy have now been preserved in time by the Osborne family.
With a selection of only the best 1,870 bottles, this is an exceptional coupage of four of Rioja’s characteristic varietals: Tempranillo, Graciano, Garnacha and Mazuelo, sourced from four selected parcels of old vines located at 550 metres of altitude where they are bush trained on poor soils.
After ageing for 30 months in hand-crafted French oak barrels and subsequently maturing in bottle for more than five years, the result is a unique wine, elegant, robust and long, ready for drinking now, although it also has great potential for laying down.
In the words of Mercedes García, Montecillo’s winemaker for around ten years, «The virtues of the terroir of the Rioja Alta, combined with painstaking and careful grape growing, have resulted in this exceptional wine that closely reflects its origin. Montecillo 22 Barricas is intense on the nose, balanced, with structure, volume and a very long finish. It’s a wine that fits with the authenticity of the brand and the region, and which perfectly represents the elegance of Gran Reservas from the D.O.Ca. Rioja”.
