Viñedos El Pacto is Vintae's most ambitious, terroir-driven project and draws on village wines, traditional vineyards and old vines. The name actually alludes to a "pact of gratitude to unite the past and present to ensure the future".
The wines are sourced from old, traditional vineyards in two specific areas of Rioja: the Sonsierra and the Alto Najerilla valley, a 30-minute drive south-west of Logroño. The range includes local cuvées and several single-vineyard wines, including two reds designated as Viñedo Singular.
In the first area, El Pacto de la Sonsierra (70,000 bottles, €14 in Spain) is a great value Tempranillo blend sourced from around 30 plots dotted around the foothills of the Sierra de Cantabria mountain range. The elegant, firm single-vineyard Riojanda (700 bottles, €45) comes from a 0.21 ha plot planted in 1920 on the road from Laguardia to Navaridas. Once again, Tempranillo dominates the blend, which also includes small amounts of Graciano, Mazuelo and some white grapes. The wine is aged in new 500-litre French oak barrels.
The range is wider in the case of the Alto Najerilla valley. It starts with a white (9,000 bottles, €17) sourced from several north-facing plots planted to Viura, some Malvasía and Garnacha Blanca on clayey, ferrous soils between Cárdenas and Nájera, and continues with El Pacto Ojo de Gallo (€19), a field blend of almost equal parts of white and red grapes, predominantly Viura and Garnacha, sourced from a plot planted in 1975 on similar soils and aged in 5,000-litre oak vat.
The premium wines include the red Valdechuecas Viñedo Singular (around 3,000 bottles, €47) and the white Jesús Acha (700 bottles, €120). Valdechuecas is a juicy, expressive Garnacha from Cárdenas. The grapes come from a terraced plot planted in 1912 and 1918, and the wine is fermented in concrete vats and aged in foudre. Jesús Acha is a tribute to the father of Vintae's winemaker, Raúl Acha. Jesús was a grape grower committed to preserving the old vines of Cárdenas. The grapes come from his favourite vineyard, a 0.47 ha plot planted in 1912 on clay and conglomerate rocks. The wine is aged 50% in tinaja (clay vessel) and 50% in large oak barrels.
The wines can be bought at the winery’s online store.
