Rioja Alta is home to many of Rioja’s most well-recognized names, including López de Heredia, Muga, CVNE, and La Rioja Alta; but it is also here you will find José Gil writing his own story of Rioja. Before modern or traditional Rioja, there was a simpler style of whole-cluster, co-fermented, and shortly-aged wines that were as naked and honest an expression of Rioja as one could find. So it should come as no surprise that when José Gil started his own project, he would follow in his ancestors’ footsteps and be more interested in the vineyard than the cellar. But these wines are far from simple. 

La Canoca is a 0.5 hectare vineyard of Tempranillo vines over 50 years in age with a small percentage of white Viura, at 540 meters elevation. The grapes are hand-harvested and co-fermented and aged in 500L French oak barrels in Jose’s cellar in San Vincente. This wine evokes a dark brambly complexity with vibrancy and a mineral core. Rich and full of black cherry and vanilla notes with chalky minerality and smooth mouthfeel, this is a sumptuous Rioja red that speaks to the past while generously offering all the flavor and depth of more modern styles. 

Pairing: Stews, Braised Pork, Chorizo

Grape: Tempranillo, Viura

Soil: Silty Clay-limestone

Viticulture: Organic