Miguel Merino La Insula Rioja 2019/20

This new release comes from an ungrafted 1,000m2 plot planted on sandy soils next to the Ebro River in Briones – the chances are that it is pre-phylloxera. The wine has herbal, peppery aromas and a fragrant, almost ethereal palate. Despite the slightly warm finish, this is a beautiful, pure Garnacha. Unfortunately, production is limited to the 500-litre cask where it was aged.

«La Ínsula» is a tiny little spot planted with Garnacha before th Phylloxera attack of the end of the 19th Century that we have
started to work very recently. Here we find ungrafted vines on a sand bank beside the River Ebro and covering just above 1,000
square metres. This sandy soil prevented the vines from becoming affected by philloxera.

The grape Garnacha adapts to most climates and soils and provides very different wines. In many places it was planted for its
resistance to heath and draught, while in some other parts they grow it for its strength to plagues as oidium. Garnacha behaves in
really different ways depending on the soil it stands and on the yield. The grapes of La Ínsula vineyard are incredibly fine thanks
to its sandy soil.