Petra de Valpiedra

Petra de Valpiedra is a Rioja estate with vineyards in the Finca Valpiedra, a single-estate property in the Rioja Alta that has been making wine under careful management for some years. The estate works with both the region's classic Tempranillo and, less conventionally, with old-vine Garnacha aged in French oak, which is not the obvious choice in a region dominated by that first variety.

Old Garnacha in the right Rioja hands produces something genuinely lovely: fragrant red fruit, a softness that Tempranillo does not always offer, and a regional character that sets it apart from Garnacha grown further south. These are carefully made, limited wines from a producer with serious intentions.