Hermanos Hernáiz Las Cenizas

Hermanos Hernáiz Las Cenizas is a red wine produced by the winery Hermanos Hernáiz-Finca Emperatriz in Baños de Rioja, D.O.Ca. Rioja.
 

Hermanos Hernáiz is the current name of the company that owns Finca La Emperatriz. The Hernáiz Brothers, owners of the farm since 1996, decide to change the name to host new wine projects in D.O.Ca. Rioja, taking advantage of the new classification that the council started to apply from the 2017 harvest.

The farm Finca La Emperatriz is located in Baños de Rioja, Rioja Alta. It has more than 100 hectares of vineyards located between the mountain ranges of Cantabria and Demanda, at almost 600 metres of altitude, on soils with a sandy-loam structure and a surface layer of boulders.

Hermanos Hernáiz Las Cenizas is the first ‘vino de pueblo’ produced by the winery. It is made with Tempranillo and a small amount of Mazuelo from 4 of their own vineyards located in the municipality of Cenicero. The vineyards were planted in the 80s on mainly clay-calcareous soils.

The harvest is carried out manually. Once the grapes arrive at the winery, they are destemmed and partially crushed before fermenting in open stainless steel deposits, with soft pump overs for the ten days the fermentation lasts. After the fermentation, the wine rests for 16 months in 225-litre French oak barrels, 40% new and 60% used, where it also goes through the malolactic fermentation.

Hermanos Hernáiz Las Cenizas is mature, balanced and expressive. A wine that captures all the character of the terroir of Cenicero.