Wine Producer - WINE GUIDE - ewineasia.com

Featured Winery - Bodegas Exopto

I arrived in Spain at the beginning of 2000, leaving my native land of Bordeaux in order to settle in La Rioja and increase sales for a famous French cooperage. In daily contact with the best winemakers in Spain, I became enthralled with La Rioja, its vineyards, culture and whole way of life. In 2003, I decided to set up Bodegas Exopto so that I could strengthen my ties with this region and express its character through a range of distinctive, original white and red wines. My main line of work at present continues to be in the selling of barrels made by the famous French cooperage Saury, which allows me to keep in contact with my customers and continually learn more about this exciting world of wine.

Spain

Rioja

The Project

The main idea behind the project is to produce different wines within the historical context of La Rioja: wines with more colour and freshness, better fruit expression and a finer contribution from the oak. All the wines produced at Bodegas Exopto are blends of the three principal Rioja grape varieties. Depending on the type of wine, Garnacha will be used for its fruit, Graciano for its freshness and Tempranillo for its structure. Bodegas Exopto, located in Laguardia, demonstrates to perfection a complex balance between modernity and tradition: the various parcels of vineyards are aged between 30 and 90 years and the winery’s tanks are made of oak and concrete, traditional and very fine quality materials that allow the wine to express itself and develop a great complexity of aromas and flavours.

Winemaking Process

All the grapes processed at Bodegas Exopto come from vineyards with bush-trained vines. The grape harvest is carried out by hand and placed in 15 kg boxes. Allwines are vinified in concrete tanks or wooden vats. The material's porous nature favours the oxygenation of wine in order to stabilise the colour, avoid problems of reduction, and round off the wines. Apart from the thickness of their walls, these tanks have very good thermal inertia that allows the grapes to be kept cool at the start of fermentation and afterwards for the temperature to be raised gradually to 28ºC for the best maceration. After the fermentation phase, we use these tanks for ageing fruitier Garnachas and Tempranillos that will go into the blend of Bozeto wine.

Ageing

Ageing in barrel plays a very significant part in the creation of our wines. For Horizonte and Exopto, the wine goes into barrels as soon as alcoholic fermentation has finished and undergoes malolactic fermentation in contact with the oak. Ageing on the lees is carried out during the first 6 months in order to increase volume and richness. We use French oak barrels exclusively. In the same way as we blend different grape varieties, we also use a combination of various types of barrel: fine-grained to favour the wine’s oxygenation, and medium-grained to preserve the fruit. The varying degrees of toast also provide complexity: Burgundy supplies minerality and structure on the palate, whereas long and low intensity toasts conserve the fruit and the wine’s balance.

Abadia Retuerta El Palomar 2001 Magnum

Designed by famous French enologist, Pascal Delbeck, in 1996, Abadía Retuerta winery is a surprising combination of tradition and modernity, recognized as one of the most advances wineries in Europe.
Learn More

Regular Price: S$163.00

Special Price: S$120.00

Abadia Retuerta Pago La Garduna 2004

RP 91 Points

WS 89 Points

S$165.00

Achaval Ferrer Finca Bellavista 2009

Shows good cut to the dense boysenberry, blackberry and crushed raspberry notes, which are supported by silky tannins and vibrant acidity. Layers of hot stone, spice and violet slowly stretch out on the tightly wound finish.
Learn More

RP 98 points

WS 91 points

S$115.50

Achaval Ferrer Finca Mirador 2007

With Finca Mirador our goal is to allow the vineyard to express its “terroir”. Malbec is the flagship red variety from Argentina. It has found in Mendoza its true home. We work as hard as necessary during eleven months in the vineyard, to produce grapes that will need very little intervention during the winemaking process.
Learn More

RP 94 points

WS 94 points

S$105.50

Albino Rocca Barbaresco 'Ronchi' 2008

This is a terrific set of wines from Angelo Rocca. The Barbareschi in particular have become much more refined over the last few vintages than was the case previously.
Learn More

RP 93 points

S$93.00

Albino Rocca Barbaresco 'Ronchi' 2009

"The 2009 Barbaresco Ronchi is a step up from the Ovello. Dark cherries, flowers, spices and crushed rocks meld together nicely. The Ronchi has a level of textural depth and power allied to a sense of vibrancy that is hugely appealing. At the same time, the essentially mid-weight style of the year at the estate is evident throughout. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2021. " The Wine Advocate
Learn More

RP 92 points

S$93.00

Albino Rocca Barbera d'Alba 'Gepin' 2009

Proprietor Angelo Rocca makes some of the richest Barbarescos in town. His Barbarescos show excellent integrity of fruit and a refined use of oak, even if they don't quite reach the level of his finest wines.
Learn More

S$57.50

Albino Rocca Bianco Langhe 'La Rocca Cortese' 2010

Albino and Angelo’s wines have been acknowledged and praised by the Italian and international specialised press. While already producing very fine wine, Albino and Angelo Rocca have a true yearning for improvement, and an openness towards novel winemaking techniques which they successfully apply.
Learn More

S$51.00

Albino Rocca Dolcetto D'alba 'Vignalunga' 2010

The 2010 Dolcetto d’Alba Vignalunga is terrific. It is a typical wine for the year, long in aromatics and structure, but less obvious in its fruit than some past vintages. Tar, smoke, licorice and blueberry jam wrap around the energetic, wiry finish. This is a fabulous wine for the dinner table.
Learn More

RP 90 points

S$35.50