2020 Jarrarte Carbonic Maceration 92WA
Abel Mendoza
San Vicente, Rioja

$19.99 on 6+ (code: 6saves2)
$21.99 reg

92 pts Robert Park Wine Advocate (Luis Gutierrez)
The 2020 Jarrarte is a Tempranillo from vines at least 40 years old on clay, limestone, silt and stony soils, matured in second-use French oak barrels. It’s ripe at 14.5% alcohol with mellow acidity and a highish pH (3.85) with a note of spice and an earthy twist, a little more rustic than in cooler years like 2018 or 2016. Better with food. 10,767 bottles produced. It was bottled in June 2023. Vigneron Abel Mendoza and his wife Maite Fernndez described quite well what is happening with climate: “In recent years, we’ve experienced very irregular and changing weather, excess heat, episodes of drought and high temperatures, a very unequal distribution of rain and untimely incidents such as hail, frost or torrential rains. They are increasingly complicated vintages to which we will have to adapt since climate change is here to stay.” Enough said.

Jarrarte is the name of an area next to the river that flows through San Vicente de la Sonsierra in Rioja. The area once belonged to the kingdom of Navarre, and the word has roots in the Basque language. Arte (between) and Jarra (stones). This is an homage to the soils of the region which are very stony and alluvial.

• 100% Tempranillo
• Whole clusters of Tempranillo grapes are placed into concrete tanks with an open top. The temperature is allowed to rise and fermentation begins naturally inside the grapes before the skins are broken. The fruit is then foot stomped, and the stems serve as canals for the free-run juice, known as vino corazn or heart wine to flow down.
• This free-run juice is then placed in a closed concrete tank where it continues fermentation. Once alcoholic fermentation has finished, malolactic fermentation kicks in (spontaneous – as they keep the temperature at around 18C – 20C).
• Only the free-run juice is bottled, allowing for an incredibly fresh and fruity wine that is easy to drink.

No 2020 score yet but here is 2019 for comparison:

92 pts Luis Guttierrez Robert Park Wine Advocate
I love the floral, perfumed and expressive nose of the 2019 Jarrarte Maceracin Carbnica, which seems to transcend the process that tends to mark wines with predictable aromas, showing a lot more serious and nuanced. It was produced following the tradition of fermenting full clusters in open concrete pools. The wine is juicy and has a velvety palate with great purity of flavors and a dry and serious, somewhat chalky finish. 30,000 bottles produced. It was bottled unoaked in August 2020.