NAME OF WINE: Gran Cerdo
NAME OF ESTATE/DOMAINE: The Wine Love
VINTAGE: 2017
ABV: 13.5%
NAME OF VIGNERON: Gonzalo Gonzalo Grijalba
LOCATION (village and region): Rioja, Spain
GRAPE/BLEND: 100% Tempranillo
SUSTAINABLE/ORGANIC/BIODYNAMIC: Organic, not certified
SUITABLE FOR VEGETARIANS/VEGANS: Suitable for vegetarians and vegans
ALLERGENS (EGGS AND/OR MILK): None Used.

TASTING NOTE: The wine has real character, all the juicy elements of Tempranillo, with no oak to mask its charm. It has a natural way about it but with no funkiness. Cherry-red, purplish, brilliant colour with primary notes of fresh fruit, strawberries, raspberries, cherries and violets with clean mineral tones from the granite, this little natural wine is phenomenal value.

FOOD RECOMMENDATION: roasted chicken, slow cooked roast shoulder of lamb with thyme or a salad of Canteloupe melon, chorizo and artichoke.

SHORT HISTORY: Gonzalo Gonzalo was born in Logroño, Spain and grew up among the vineyards that his parents cultivated in Fuenmayor. After studying biology in León and oenology in the university of Rioja, he dedicated himself to travelling through France and Italy where he met small vine-growers and winemakers and discovered new varieties of grape and technologies After completing his oenologist training in an industrial winery, in 2003 he abandoned everything to give birth to Orgullo, his personal oenology project.

TERROIR: The soil is calcareous clay and the vineyards are 4.5 hectares in size. Gonzalo and his helpers Teresa and Fernando tend the vines methodically, and with perfection in mind, year round and work only with the best grapes they can coax from the land for Orgullo.

VITICULTURE: Gonzalo rejects market driven fashions, formulae, chemical treatments and conformism. Instead he has sought out his own methods with respect for the land, his vineyards, and the traditions of his forefathers. He balances this respect with formal training in the latest enological techniques and methods. They also follow the lunar cycle in vineyard and the winery. In the end Gran Cerdo is all about the purest expression of fruit with whole bunch fermentation, no filtration, no stabilization and minimal sulphur.

VINIFICATION:

•   Manual harvested

•   Whole bunch fermentation

•   Maturation in Stainless steel vat

•   No Filtration

•   No Fining

•   Minimum use of sulphur in vinification

TECHNICAL:

•   Total S02: 32 mg/l

•   Acidity: 4.6 g/l

•   Residual sugar: 1.4g/l