2019 Aster Finca el otero

Its Origins

La Rioja Alta planted 76 hectares of vineyards in Ribera del Duero in 1991 on an estate that they’d purchased the previous year. After a lot of research, they had identified Anguix (in the Burgos subzone) as the ideal location for this new venture, with an altitude of 780-830 m. They sold the grapes for the first few years, and then in 1999 made the first wine of their own from these vineyards. The current winery was built in 2002, and is very similar inside to their flagship winery in Rioja. There’s extensive use of gravity, and rather than just a walkway around the top of the fermentation tanks there’s a beautiful polished wooden floor. The vinification is quite typical for the region, with everything being aged in small oak barrels, a mix of French and American. The barrel hall has 2700 barrels in it. (Wine Anorak, Jamie Goode)