Sierra de la Demanda by Alberto Orte Tinto 2014
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Suckling
James -
Wong
Wilfred
Product Details
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Winemaker Notes
An exotically perfumed bouquet evokes ripe black and blue fruits, peppery spices and fresh flowers, with a touch of pipe tobacco in the background. Gently sweet and floral on the palate, offering intense blueberry and black raspberry flavors that tighten up on the back half. Energetic, precise wine with strong closing lift and spicy persistence; subtle tannins build slowly and add shape.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
I like the mineral, stone and dark berry character. Hints of lemon rind. Medium body, bright acidity and a focused finish. An enjoyable linear edge to it.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2014 Alberto Orte Sierra de la Demanda is a formidable red wine that slows an attractive elevation on the palate. TASTING NOTES: This wine shines with aromas and flavors of dried earth, savory spices, dried fruit, and a floral note. Pair it with roast chicken in a mixed with garden-fresh lettuces. (Tasted: October 10, 2021, San Francisco, CA)
Other Vintages
2015-
Enthusiast
Wine
In the foothills of the mountains near the southern banks of the Ebro river, Alberto Orte found some very special vines and vineyards to compose the wines of Sierra de la Demanda. From these north-facing old vine plantings, Alberto crafts Rioja wines of incomparable minerality and focus that hearken back to a much older and more traditional style of Rioja winemaking, emphasizing specificity of terroir, elegance and balance. Using some of the oldest, highest altitude vines in the region necessitates painstaking work, but yields remarkable results.
n most vintages, this vineyard is among the last to be harvested in all of Spain, let alone Rioja, sometimes extending into November to achieve phenolic ripeness. This longer hang time lends grace, profound depth and complexity to the Sierra de la Demanda wines. For the most part, vineyard owners in this area are farmers who sell their fruit to larger producers. Alberto Orte controls the fruit for Sierra de la Demanda from budbreak to bottling, showcasing the profound minerality and precision of this unique terroir.
Hailed as the star red variety in Spain’s most celebrated wine region, Tempranillo from Rioja, or simply labeled, “Rioja,” produces elegant wines with complex notes of red and black fruit, crushed rock, leather, toast and tobacco, whose best examples are fully capable of decades of improvement in the cellar.
Rioja wines are typically a blend of fruit from its three sub-regions: Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Oriental, although specific sub-region (zonas), village (municipios) and vineyard (viñedo singular) wines can now be labeled. Rioja Alta and Alavesa, at the highest elevations, are considered to be the source of the brightest, most elegant fruit, while grapes from the warmer and drier, Rioja Oriental, produce wines with deep color, great body and richness.