The 2021 El Camino is produced from old bush vines in Rioja Alavesa grown at high altitude that are, on average, 80 years old and low-yielding but high in quality. This is what the winery considers its first artisanal wine, with this being the first vintage, from the outstanding 2021, with only 4,000 bottles produced. It may not be made every year. The field blend is 97% Tempranillo with the remaining a mix of Mazuelo, Garnacha, and Viura. A very complex sultry wine, it offers light spice, rich red fruit, dried herb, and silky tannins within a full-bodied, concentrated style, aged 14 months in larger French oak barrels. Age 15-25 years.
The unnamed wine I tasted last year under the generic name Vi¤edos Artesanales has finally been released as the 2021 El Camino, which comes from three plots of old head-pruned vines planted 81 years ago with Tempranillo and 3% other varieties, including Mazuelo, Garnacha and Viura. The vines are in El Pis¢n, La Revilla and Las Naves lieux-dits of the village of Elvillar. The destemmed grapes fermented in the new winery that was built for this range, Vi¤edos Artesanales, in small troncoconic stainless steel vats, and the wine matured in 500-liter French oak barrels for 14 months, including malolactic. Using larger barrels means the wine has to be sold as generic, or "joven"; it cannot be sold as Reserva or Gran Reserva, or even Crianza! But user larger barrels also means the oak is a lot more integrated and has less impact on the wine, which is young and juicy, with great freshness, elegance and balance, with a different profile, with a lot lees oak. It shows a little backward, shy, insinuating and subtle, a little austere and opening slowly in the glass. It's silky and elegant, but it has grip, with very chalky tannins. It has contained ripeness, 14.5% alcohol, a pH of 3.78, 4.8 grams of acidity and just under two grams of unfermented sugar. It's evolving in a very slow and positive way. It's a good debut. 3,680 bottles were filled in July 2023. The label is unique; it has a small piece of a vine shoot attached to it!
The 2021 El Camino, from Rioja Alavesa, is a blend of three old-vine parcels near Elvillar. Aromatically complex, it contains blackberry, plum, raspberry and balsamic herb aromas, with oak in a supporting role. Delicate yet energetic, the palate is layered with a chalky texture and enveloping flow before a long, balanced finish of fruit and oak. Concentrated but never heavy, this is a refined Rioja that hints at the region's evolving identity. The 2021 is built to age.
El Camino comes from very small parcels of old vines (average 80 years) in Elvillar de Alava. Aromas of forest floor, red cherry and rhubarb reflect its cool, Rioja Alavesa origin. Already offering perfectly integrated oak, the wine has subtle graphite notes and a certain chalky texture. It is beautifully poised and elegant; a wonderful new release from Torre de Oña
Winery Notes
Rated 96 - El Camino is a new wine from the Torre de Ona team, sourced from three parcels in Elvillar (El Pis¢n, La Revilla and Quintanilla), featuring a field blend of Tempranillo with 20% of other red and white grapes. Spicy and energetic, it has top notes of wild Mediterranean herbs, chalky minerality and layers of black cherry, raspberry and pomegranate. A superb first release. Appealingly refreshing. - Tim Atkin
