Their Suañé range includes three wines. The 2018 Blanco Reserva is a zesty, mineral blend of Viura and Sauvignon Blanc fermented on skins for 10 days. Their 2019 Rosado Reserva is savoury, floral, complex and utterly delicious. 'Right up there with my favourite rosados in Rioja', says Tim of the 2019, while the Wine Advocate calls the 2018 'brilliant'. We tasted their 2017 Suañe Tinto Reserva at both our Cape Town and Joburg tastings, and what a wine! It’s vibrant, fresh, and fine grained – ideal for your next braai.

In contrast to traditional blending, their Pequeñita range is based on separate small, low-yielding vineyard plots – picked, fermented and bottled separately. Their Pequeñita whites include the ‘lipsmacking’ (Decanter) Maturana Blanca and ‘impressive’ (Tim Atkin) Malvasia Riojana, offering lively acidity and a chalky, salty finish. Both wines see a degree of skin contact, which adds great tannin structure. The 2019 Pequeñita Tempranillo shows loads of wild flowers, tart berries and dried herbs, with a juicy, mineral finish.

Javier, Alberto and their families work the vineyards themselves and practise minimal intervention in the vineyards and cellars. They also use an array of vessels – from larger foudres to clay amphorae and concrete. They recently began building their own winery in Villalba de Rioja, sourcing 70% of their grapes from around the village. Their main vineyard, La Cala, is on their 4.8 ha property where both very old and new vines are planted.