Grape Varieties
Tempranilla, Granacha and Graciano
REGION/COUNTRY
Rioja, Spain
Winery
Bodegas Faustino trace their roots to 1861 when Eleuterio Martinez Arzox bought a
palace and vineyards at Oyon from the Marques de Puerto and founded Bodegas
Victorianas. His descendent Julio Faustino Martinez, son of Don Faustino, took over
the business in 1955 and founded the Rioja brand Faustino in 1960. Today it is one of
the major brands of Rioja sold all over the world and easily the best selling Rioja in
Ireland. The company is still family owned and has expanded to include vineyards and
winemaking facilities in Navarre, La Mancha and Ribera del Duero.
WINEMAKER
Rafael Martinez
TASTING NOTE
Colour: Bright, youthful cherry red with just a hint of ochre at the rim.
Nose: Lively youthful berry fruit mingles with toasty oak.
Palate: An exuberant youthful fruity wine with vanilla from the oak ageing adding a
smoothness to the flavour.
FOOD MATCH
This fresh fruity wine is particularly suited to barbecues and indeed any informal foods such as pizza, pies or burgers.
VITICULTURE
Faustino own 650 ha of top quality vineyards throughout Rioja in the municipalities of
Laguardia, Logroño, Mendavia and Oyón, growing at altitudes of 400-600m. This gives total control over the quality of their vital raw ingredients and allows them to be picked at optimum ripeness by hand and then transported in small baskets, to avoid crushing, to the winery.
WINEMAKING
Fermentation takes place at a maximum of about 24º C and the skins are left to macerate after fermentation to produce finer tannins with the whole process taking about 16 days. Then the wine is aged in American oak barrels, from West Virginia, for 10 months before at least another 1- 2 years ageing in bottle prior to release.
MATURATION
It is released ready to be enjoyed and in general the wine is at its peak from about 3-7 years after the vintage date but should give pleasure for a few years after that.
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