Tempranillo wine Castillo de Sajazarra Gran Reserva 1998 is a Rioja Spain red wine with a creamy and solid structure and black cherry, black rasberry fruit tastes. This Tempranillo wine is crafted from the Tempranillo grapes grown in the Castillo de Sajazarra vines that grow in chalky soils at altitudes between 610 and 700 meters. The vineyard is situated on the slopes of the Obarenes Mountains. After the harvest and manual selection of the Tempranillo grapes, the tinto wine is aged in French and American oak casks for 24 months, with the rest of the time (one to two year) spent aging in bottle. The Rioja Tinto comes in a wood case of 6 bottles.

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Castillo de Sajazarra in Rioja hand-crafts wines that are elegant, agreeable, with great personality and that give wine drinkers utmost satisfaction. Castillo de Sajazarra is one of the few cellars that completes the whole cycle of wine from the vineyard to the cellar, with total self-sufficiency: neither grapes nor wine are from any outside sources. It is a family cellar, professionally managed and supervised very closely by the owners. Castillo de Sajazarra is located in the village of the same name, south of the Obarenes mountains and 12 kilometers west of Haro in the northern La Rioja province bordering Burgos and Alava. The river runs near the warehouse. It is a juncture of several regions of the Camino de Santiago and the region of Miranda de Ebro and Vitoria. In the center of the village stands, majestically, El Castillo (the castle) Sajazarra. It leaves an impression marked by its name, one that evokes firmness, robustness and brings to mind the heart of medieval Castille. The village of Rioja Alta conserves one of the few castles in the community from the XIII century, where, ashlars, fortified towers, turrets and arrow slits bring echoes of power and combats. Since the late 60s, Castillo de Sajazarra has been owned by the Líbano family. On acquiring the property the proprietors started a careful process of restoration. It was then that the medieval caves of the fortress told their greatest secret: inside was a winery and a press for the production of wine. Through the efforts of the family, the wine of Castillo de Sajazarra came back to life. A new plant was built respecting the surroundings, by the side of the River Mardancho, in a place of singular beauty. The cellar counts on 48 hectares of vineyards in the most north-western area of Rioja Alta, in the localities of Sajazarra, Villaseca de Rioja, Galbárruli and Castílseco. The area enjoys a unique micro climate. The most emblematic lands such as Galdara, La Roma, Los Corrales and Fuente Negra, situated at an altitude of 500 to 700 metres, are found the southern skirts of the Obarene Mountains. In this extreme region with dry, calcareous, argillaceous ground and with temperature variations of around 20º between day and night, Tempranillo is cultivated with the presence of Graciano, Mazuelo and Garnacha. Used are cultivating techniques designed to obtain the maximum expressiveness of the grape from the area. The oldest vineyards are over 60 years old and the newest 18. The harvesting is totally organic with no herbicides, insecticides or acaricides used. The vineyards of Castilla de Sajazarra are harvested at the end of October, after initiated maturity controls and grape tasting in September. The result determines the exact vintage date in each parcel, as well as its enological potency. Each vineyard is gathered separately following a strict selection. The grapes are collected by hand and put into boxes of 25 kilos in weight. They are then transported to the cellars where they are hand selected, and only bunches of the best quality are chosen for the Reservas. Castillo de Sajazarra produces all their wines separately, respecting the singularity of each parcel. To do this the cellar has small truncated conical tanks of stainless steel for 5.000 and 9.400 liters, reinforced concrete ones for 19.000 liters and wooden vats of 20.500 liters. After the cold pre-fermented maceration, fermentation takes place at a regulated temperature. Decanting is done by gravity or peristaltic pump. No clarification or aggressive filters are used. Once the wine completes its time in the barrel, the wine is then put into wooden vats where it stays until it reaches maturity. Finally, it rounds off in the bottle; where it will remain and age for 12 to 24 months. With the aim of obtaining maximum quality wines, Castillo de Sajazarra uses the latest technology. The best of each vintage passes to new French oak casks for the malolactic ferment. This is a slow procedure that usually lasts until the following spring, due to the late date the grapes are selected, and has a great deal of time for polymerization to achieve the maximum polifenoles, giving the wines more structure and oils, less tannins and steady color.

RATINGS: 88 Points - iWineReview
"Dark ruby, garnet edge. Earthy, cigar box, forest floor aromas. Nice mouth feel. Soft, lush attack. Good acidity. Earthy palate with nice underlying black cherry, black rasberry fruit. Not quite clean—probably from the oak."
87 Points - Robert Parker
"A modern wine that wants nothing in typicality. Creamy with a solid structure; mature slightly drying tannins. Harmoniuosly balanced and long, it is a wine that is splendid now and bodes well for the future."

Castillo de Sajazarra Gran Reserva 1998 Information:
Graduation 1250
Density: 0.993
Volatile Acidity: 0.60
Total acidity S: 3.60
PH: 3.59
Sulfur L. 20
Sulfur T. 78
CATEGORY: GRAND RESERVE AROMA: Spices (cloves and cinnamon) ALCOHOL: 12.5%
TASTE: round, wide mouth feel with a slight taste of oak.
GRAPE VARIETIES: 95% Tempranillo, 5% Graciano and Mazuelo
COLOR: Cherry with orange trim
A Grand Reserve that is certified by the Board of Denomination of Rioja. Produced in small quantities with grapes from Castillo De Sajazarra's own vineyards, selected vintage. Aged in oak barrels of 225 liters capacity using methods of classic Rioja wines, during the period of 36 months, with a ratio of 35% and 65% American barrels of French barrels. No mechanical filtration used, moved by decanting, malolactic fermentation in limousine tanks of 20,000 liters.