Gabaxo Olivier Rivière 2016

Oliviere Riviere is now a well-known and respected winemaker in Rioja, but he had to deal with a reality that rejected foreigners in the past. After his first wine-growing experiences in France at the court of Elian Da Ros, Lalou Bize Leroy and Frederic Cossard approached Spain (passing through the Corbieres). The first approach with Iberian viticulture takes place thanks to Telmo Rodriguez who introduces it and allows him to get to know the local winemakers. Thanks to these collaborations Olivier can get his hands on the grapes of the Rioja Alta area, on its most interesting territory, Arlanza. It is located in front of a rich heritage of vineyards planted between the 1910s and 1950s on altitudes up to 1000 meters. Acquire a package of scattered vineyards up to 10 hectares today also arranged in Rioja Alavesa. Natural viticulture dominates Olivier's thought that dusts off rural techniques such as the use of the horse for the management of some vineyards and non-irrigation in a territory where it has been abused for a long time. Intense work to describe the territory by parceling all the cuvées. Here I come out of the wines of tttuo this work contrary to what is commonly tasted in Rioja: savory, fresh without diminishing their density and elegance.