Exopto Cosecha Rioja 2024

Country: Spain

Region: Rioja

Type: Red Wine

Grape: Garnacha/Graciano/Tempranillo

Exopto is Latin for “to long for” or “to desire greatly” and it is the dream of Frenchman Tom Puyaubert and his family to endeavor to craft and assemble wines where the whole adds up to more than the sum of their parts. Tom relocated from France to Rioja in 2000 after falling in love with the region and working for a French cooperage.

The viticulture and winemaking is focused on small plots of vines, wild yeast fermentation in concrete or old oak vats and aging methods that best showcase the fruit, minerality and terroir (as opposed to the wood or aged flavors that people often associate with Rioja). The family owns and works a total of 16 hectares of vines in different terroir-specific sub-zones of Rioja with an age range from 30 to 90 years old. The vineyards are all worked naturally by hand and by horse. 

The 2024 Cosecha was produced with 65% Garnacha from Alfaro and 30% Tempranillo, complemented with 5% Graciano. The uncrushed grapes fermented in stainless steel, concrete and oak, and the Garnacha was aged in concrete and the Tempranillo in oak vats. Young, juicy and fruit-driven, with good ripeness, balanced acidity, minerality, and a velvety palate.