Jose Gil - Camino de Ribas Rioja 2021

Jose Gil grew up in San Vicente de la Sonsierra, where his family have been grape growers and winemakers for generations. His grandfather, father, and uncle own Bodegas Olmaza, a small 35-hectare estate famed for its vibrantly traditional “village” wine. 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. Jose currently farms 5 hectares of vines located in the villages of San Vicente, Labastida, and Briones. Practices are manual and organic although he is not certified. The vines range in age from 5 to 130 years old with the majority Tempranillo, a small percentage of Viura. The oldest vineyard plots a co-planted with tiny percentages of other grape varieties which include Garnacha and Palomino. When the grapes reach the cellar after being harvested by hand, they are fermented either whole-cluster, or partially destemmed. All fermentations are by indigenous yeasts and extraction is gentle. After pressing the wines are racked into 225-300L French oak barrels and transported to the aging cellar in San Vicente.

La Concova is one of José’s larger parcels in San Vicente, the majority of which is used in his village Rioja. José selects a portion of the oldest vine fruit planted on soils with a seam of chalk for his Camino de Ribas. These vines are primarily Tempranillo with up to 40% Garnacha and small percentages of white varieties.