# Ermita del Conde (2014)

- **Producer:** Viedos y Bodega Ermita del Conde
- **Colour:** red
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Tempranillo, Merlot
- **Region:** Castilla y León, Spain
- **Style:** Classic
- **Alcohol:** 14.0%
- **Average price:** €18
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 16–17 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** blackberry, cherry, plum, liquorice, vanilla, cloves, tobacco, cedar

## About this wine

Ermita del Conde is the signature flagship red wine produced by the boutique estate Viedos y Bodega Ermita del Conde. Located in the historic village of Corua del Conde, Burgos, at an extreme altitude of 943 meters, the vineyards lie just outside the official boundaries of the D.O. Ribera del Duero. Founded in 2006 by Marta Gomendio, who left a real estate career to recover these high-altitude heritage vineyards, the estate features centenarian and pre-phylloxera vines. In its early years, the winery was conceptualized and advised by the renowned winemaking collective Envnate.

## Interesting facts

- Sourced from centenarian and pre-phylloxera bush vines at an extreme altitude of 943 meters.
- The estate was conceptualized and advised in its early years by the famous winemaking collective Envnate.
- Located just 2 km from the ancient Roman ruins of Clunia Sulpicia, linking the estate to ancient Celtic and Roman viticultural heritage.

## Food pairing

This powerful, structured, and full-bodied red wine requires rich, savory dishes with high protein and fat content, such as roasted meats or aged cheeses, to soften its robust tannins and complement its intense dark fruit and oak-spiced profile.

## Wine making process

The wine is crafted from old-vine Tempranillo, manually harvested in small 18 kg boxes. Following double manual selection, the grapes undergo spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts in concrete and stainless steel tanks. Extraction is achieved solely through gentle manual punching down (pigeage) without mechanical pumps. The wine is aged for 12 to 18 months in French oak barrels, followed by at least 6 months of integration in large 3,000-liter French oak foudres, and a final 6 months of bottle refining before release.