100% Tempranillo from vines that range from 30-100 years of age. All of the vines are bush trained and cultivated without chemicals, and yield less than two tons per acre, or about three pounds of fruit per vine. The grapes are handpicked and hand sorted at the winery. Fruit from each vineyard is maintained separately throughout fermentation and aging. Fermentation takes place in French oak vats of up to 20,000 liter capacity with temperature controlled by water-chilled stainless steel plates and automatic remontage systems. The secondary fermentation is carried out in French barriques, half of which are new and half of one year’s use, in a unique, light-flooded hall kept at a temperature of 20ºC (68ºF) by panels which radiantly heat the floor to induce malolactic fermentation. Stabilization is accomplished by opening a large window in the hall’s north facade to reduce the temperature to 5ºC (41ºF) from December through February. The aging period is completed over twelve to sixteen months in a large bay excavated into one side of the hall. Following blending, the wine is egg-white fined and bottled without filtering, and spends twenty months in bottle before release.

Bodegas Roda was founded 1987 by Mario Rottlant and Carmen Daurella, a Catalan couple who met through their business affiliations in gourmet products and wine. Their objective was to create high expression wines in a modern style reflective of the Rioja region’s microclimatic spectrum of soil, orientation, elevation, climate, vintage year and traditional indigenous varietals. They set Bordeaux as their benchmark of technique and quality, and to evoke the fullest reflection of place in the wines, focused their efforts on old vine vineyards capable of best expressing the terrior of Rioja. The winery was completed in 1991, and the first commercial vintage was 1992. Three tiers of wine have been produced, Roda, Roda I, and Cirsion, all from the estate’s 17 parcels of vines, each of which is vinified separately. No wine is made from vines less than 30 years of age. Roda I focuses on the dark fruit side of the spectrum, while Cirsion is a selection of the best vines within 4 of the 17 blocks. This luxury cuvee is produced only in good years.