At Exeo we want drinking one of our wines to transport you to the place where they come from, their landscapes, their people and, above all, their vineyards. That is why we put all our efforts into preserving the quality of our raw material, the vineyard, and its fruit as much as possible.
At Exeo we harvest all our plots by hand and collect the fruit in small boxes, respecting the integrity of the grapes so that they are able to transmit their character to the wine, to the glass.
It is a family winery, located in the urban center of Labastida, an initiative of Fidel Fernández Gibaja, who is followed by his sons Carlos, Fidel and his grandson Guillermo. The winery is part of the heritage of a dynasty of winegrowers with 24 hectares of its own vineyards, some of which are over a hundred years old.
The brothers put all their passion and knowledge into making wines, without forgetting the roots of Rioja Alavesa.
The vineyard is worked logically, respecting as much as possible the structures of the soils of its region and the identity that each grape variety acquires in each plot. They fight for clean cultivation without pesticides, seeking the greatest openness, intensity and purity of Rioja Alavesa, to which they add their constant interest in reinventing themselves. All of this results in the production of world-renowned wines, trying to convey their vineyards, their soils and their house in each bottle of wine they produce.
All of its vineyards are located in Labastida, Rioja Alavesa, sheltered by the Sierra Toloño. These have belonged to them for three generations and another part have been acquired under their criteria and always valuing their soils and orientations.
Respect for maintaining and recovering the small, large payments of Rioja Alavesa. Respect for maintaining the wines that this land offers us, so we work in concrete, both in tanks and in eggs.
This new-wave Rioja (see below for info) is a blend of Tempranillo, Graciano and Garnacha. It combines maturity and complexity with freshness and elegance. Theres a core of dark plummy fruit, with some cherry notes, spice and earthiness and lovely ripe tannins giving complexity and body.
This is perfect with grilled lamb chops and salsa verde
Rioja has traditionally been defined by its ageing. Wines would be blended from across the region and quality would be defined by a wines age - vineyards and regionality were not considered important. Now, theres a new movement in Rioja where new wave producers are pushing to label the wines from their villages and regions highlighting the difference in the terroir and individual parcels.
Creaciones Exeo is part of this movement , stepping away from traditional methods, to produce fresher styles of wine with a lesser reliance an oak influence. The important thing here is hard work in the vineyard to produce great fruit.
Located in the area of Labastida, Rioja Alavesa (this village is labelled on the bottle, until very recently producers were not allowed to do this), Carlos works with 24 hectares of the highest altitude vineyards of the area. In the shelter of the Sierra Toloo, the vines benefit from Atlantic influences and the soils here are mainly chalk and limestone which all help to give elegance the wine.
Domaine Chavy Chouet Meursault Les Narvaux is made from 100% Chardonnay from extremely steep vineyards.
Les Narvaux in Meursault sits at the top of the slope on a steep, shallow, limestone plot.
TW Tasting notes: A lively and balanced wine with aromas of white-fleshed fruit. It offers hints of toasted almond on the nose and is very long on the palate. Mineral and energetic, it will only open up fully after a few years in the cellar. In the top 5 of my top Meursault picks.
60 Year old vine
Ageing: 12 months in French oak barrels (20% new)Planting density: 10000
Surface area: 0.5Ha
Bastgen Kestener Paulinshofberg Riesling Kabinett is 100 percent Riesling.
Kesten is a small village right by the Mosel surrounded by steep vineyards called Paulinsberg (=hills of Saint Paul). The vines grow on bridle clay slate near the river - a classic terroir that has been cultivated with vines ever since Roman times. Riesling is the most typical grape of the Mosel region that produced a fruity Kabinett with beautiful peach aromas on the nose, rich and ripe fruits on the mouth with honeyed notes and a refreshing acidity. This is a very pleasing wine.
They meticulously tend 4.5 ha (11.11 acres) of which 80% is Riesling. The soil is made of slate. Their vineyards are located in Kesten and Brauneberg, on a steep terrace, and planted to 50-year old vines. Fortunately for Bastgen, they own part of the famous Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr. The vines produce very small, ripe berries that are very tasty.
The grapes are strongly selected, only minimal amounts of botrytis are tolerated. At time of the harvest the grapes are fully ripened with a golden color and tart acidity. After a natural sedimentation process the fermentation occurs in stainless steel tanks under cool conditions. The wine remains on the lees until April, then is gently filtered once, and bottled.