# Selección Natural (2021)

- **Producer:** Berta Valgañón
- **Colour:** red
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Tempranillo, Graciano, Garnacha
- **Region:** Rioja, Spain
- **Style:** Classic
- **Alcohol:** 14.0%
- **Average price:** €17
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 18–19 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** cherry, plum, blueberry, black pepper, herbaceous, vanilla, cloves, cedar, smoke, forest floor, wet leaves, leather, mushroom

## About this wine

Berta Valgañón is a passionate fourth-generation viticulturist who returned to her roots in the tiny, 30-resident hamlet of Villaseca in Rioja Alta to save her family's ancient vineyards from being uprooted. Operating under a permaculture philosophy, she personally manages both the manual viticulture and winemaking. The wines are aged in a historic 16th-century deep cave-cellar located directly under the El Bolo mountain in Cuzcurrita del Río Tirón, providing perfect natural humidity and temperature.

## Interesting facts

- Berta Valgañón returned to her 30-resident village of Villaseca to save her family's centenarian vines from being uprooted.
- The wine ages in a historic 16th-century deep cave-cellar located directly under the El Bolo mountain.
- Despite the name 'Selección Natural', Berta crafts this as a clean, classic Rioja rather than a funky modern natural wine.

## Food pairing

This high-altitude Rioja Alta red thrives alongside rich, savory dishes. Its vibrant acidity cuts through the fat of roasted meats and cured jamón, while its fine-grained tannins pair beautifully with the protein structure of beef and duck. The wine's herbal and balsamic undertones complement earthy lentil stews and rosemary-infused dishes.

## Wine making process

The grapes are hand-harvested in late autumn and undergo spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts in a combination of stainless steel and concrete tanks. Malolactic fermentation occurs naturally in concrete and neutral 500-liter barrels. The wine is aged for 18 months in a hybrid program of used 500L and 600L French oak barrels, concrete tanks, and flextanks, followed by a minimum of one year of bottle aging. It is bottled unfiltered with minimal sulfur additions.