Bodegas Santalba Ermita de San Felices Rioja Reserva

Wine Description & Tasting Notes

Santiago Ijaba has been making wines for over half a century, since 1964 in fact.

Today, father-and-son pair Santiago and Roberto Ijaba oversee the estate, representing three generations of Iljaba landowners. Santiago’s father used to cultivate vineyards for prominent Rioja estates, but Santiago felt impelled to develop his own wine. So, in 1998, he came up with a name that combined elements of “Santiago” and “Ijalba,” and established Bodegas Santalba in the Haro-adjacent town of Gimileo. Today, Santiago and Roberto firmly share the estate’s reins: while Santiago seeks elegance and balance in their wines, Roberto seeks concentration without weight, pursuing the finest depiction of Tempranillo.

Santalba encourages biodiversity and soil consistency by avoiding systemic products in all of their vineyards, some of which have vines that are over 90 years old, and their bottles are vegan certified by the European Union’s V-Label. Though not all of their grapes are cultivated on their property, Santalba carefully selects their outside sources, primarily family-run vineyards located within a 15-minute tractor ride of their headquarters. Regardless of the location, they are constantly seeking for new and imaginative ways to use their centuries of winemaking knowledge.

This Reserva is aged in American oak for 18 months.

Nose: There is a concentration of aromas of ripe fruit and vanilla on top of spices and toasted bread.

Palate: Balanced in the mouth, there is a powerful back taste and a long pleasurable finish to this elegant wine. It will open up and improve for hours in the glass.

Food Pairings: Epic with roasted meat, grills, duck, pork in mustard, mature and semi-mature cheese, venison in red wine, grilled wild mushrooms, casseroles, Iberian ham and so on.

Temperature of Consumption: 17°C