Viña Ilusión Tinto, Rioja - 2022

Name: Viña Ilusión Tinto, Rioja
Brand: Viña Ilusión
SKU: 31592
Price: 18.96 USD
Availability: InStock

Item # 31592 750 mL

A gorgeous red Rioja from one of the highest elevations in the Rioja Baja area (700 m a.s.l.). Winemaker Martín Alonso is a proponent of the techniques of Masanobu Fukuoka, a Japanese agricultural maverick with practices that have done well on Martín's vineyards, which are filled with iron-rich clay and limestone soils. Unoaked to emphasize the pure fruit from the local Tempranillo grape, Viña Ilusión started in 1992 and today has a mere five hectares of vineyards.

$18.96/ Single Bottle

$227.52 $204.77/ Case of 12

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Color

Red

Vintage

2022

Country

Spain

Region

Rioja

Sub-Region

Rioja Baja

Producer

Viña Ilusión

Grape Variety

Tempranillo

Grenache

Production Methods

Organic

Practicing Organic

Wine made from grapes grown without synthetic pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides in the vineyard.

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Staff Pick Notes

Don't make the mistake of dismissing all wines put in the colloquial "weeknight" category as being less than. Wines like the Viña Ilusión Tinto really hit the sweet spot of being affordable while giving you the feel of a little Wednesday luxury. On just 5 hectares, winemaker Martín Alonso farms completely organically while also applying several biodynamic practices. The winery is solar powered, and even uses sheep to fertilize the vines. Viña Ilusión is a nod to Alonso's now realized dream, or "Ilusión" of moving out of the city to farm land. The grapes are hand harvested, destemmed, and then fermented with wild yeast in stainless steel. With no oak, the purity of the Tempranillo and Garnacha are able to shine. It is young and fresh "joven" style that is very approachable, delightfully fruity, and will keep you reaching for your glass.

- HW

Glossary

Spain

Central to the Spanish winemaking philosophy is the belief that wine should be released only when it is ready to be consumed, and not a moment before. Spanish wine law focuses squarely on this issue: the terms Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva are highly regulated indicators of the amount of time a wine has aged prior to its release. In Rioja, Navarra, and the Ribera del Duero (which have the most stringent requirements) red Crianzas must be aged a minimum of two years; Reservas, at least three...

Grenache

The Grenache grape (a.k.a. Grenache Noir) produces relatively pale, fruity red wines that often stop just short of sweetness. Grenache is familiar to most wine drinkers as an ingredient in the blends of the Rhône and Languedoc-Roussillon, where it can add charm to varieties that are a little rougher around the edges. The distinguished Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Gigondas appellations are both characterized by significant percentages of Grenache, while in Tavel and Lirac the grape is used to make...

Tempranillo

A.k.a. Cencibel. Just about synonymous with Spanish wine, the red Tempranillo grape has now fully won over the hearts and minds of critics and amateur oenophiles all over the world. The best bottles are powerful and ageworthy, and are beginning to fetch prices you'd never have expected from Spanish wines just a few years ago. Tempranillo is often used in blends with Bordeaux grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and has lately been grown with considerable success outside of Spain, in...

Rioja

The origin of Spanish winemaking, Rioja has been the benchmark for Spanish wines in the international market for over two hundred years, and remains so to this day. Tempranillo is the star of the red wines here, though its expression can vary wildly from producer to producer. Traditionally-styled Riojas tend to be subtle and soft, and often have high levels of acidity to ensure their survival through the lengthy ageing process. The more modern producers are making powerful, dark,...