Curiously, you could argue that the choice of winemaking vessel is the least interesting thing about the wines of one of the standout producers in the non-oaky school: Sierra de Toloño.

The project of young winemaker Sandra Bravo, Sierra de Toloño is based around a set of tiny plots of old vineyards at altitudes of up to 700m surrounding her small winery in Villabuena de Alava in Rioja Alavesa. Bravo’s winemaking choices are very much in service to the exquisite, organically farmed fruit she harvests from those plots.

Still, those choices have a significant say in the character of the finished wines. Her heart-stoppingly beautiful, almost delicate, fresh La Dula Garnacha de Altura uses fruit from her highest vineyard, with vines that have an average age of 70 years. Bravo conducts the fermentation in large, old neutral oak foudres, before transferring the wine to amphorae. 

— Decanter, The Diversity of Rioja in Six Wines heights.

The Story

Sandra Bravo of Sierra de Toloño is bringing a new vision to the wines of Rioja, farming some of the oldest and coldest vineyards in Rioja Alavesa. She seems able to inject the magic of this timeless, pilgrim-laden, rustic plinth into her wines, the Cantabrian Mountain winds, their fierce beauty, their trails imbued with devotion.

Born in Haro, the commercial heart of Rioja, and today located in Rioja Alavesa, the rustic plinth of Rioja’s pilgrim soul, Sandra has honed a mastery of high-elevation, old-vine farming. And her hard-won talent in the cellar is all about delicacy. Minimalist, traditional winemaking has made her examples of Tempranillo, Viura, and Garnacha undisputed icons of this sublime sub-region.

Growing up in Rioja surrounded by wine, it made sense for Bravo to study enology at the University of La Rioja, then transferring to the enology program at Toulouse in France. She followed on with work in Bordeaux, Chianti, Marlborough, California, and finally in Priorat for seven of her most formative years where she met her friend Ricard Rofes (now in charge of Scala Dei) who increased her inspiration and devotion to old-vine Spanish revivalism. It was then she was finally inspired to return to her home to Rioja to craft terroir wines of a similar, Burgundian, traditionalist ilk.

Sandra was able to purchase some of the oldest and highest elevation micro-plots on the Alavesa side of the Ebro, the smallest of Rioja’s three sub-zones. This chillier, bucolic area is the perfect terroir for Sandra’s style, being the northernmost part of Rioja most exposed to the Atlantic Ocean’s cooling influence.

Like many of the greatest winemakers, Sandra is a farmer first. Her goal after every harvest is to let the grapes speak for themselves. She opts for terracotta amphoras and larger older oak vessels. Tasted blind, many of Rioja’s hallmarks are attributable to their long exposure to oxygen in barrel. The richness and well-restrained power of these famed wines is wonderful, no doubt, but we are here for the whole spectrum of remarkable Rioja. Sandra’s wines bring us the more delicate end of that spectrum. By no means are her wines a repudiation of these classic styles, but rather they give a different lens. The term Burgundian is bandied about so often as to lose its meaning, but here we have a terrific example — these are renderings of Tempranillo, Garnacha, and Viura that truly put the site and its fruit on the pedestal, revealing the unmitigated complexity of these ageless vines’ fruit.

We’re over the moon excited to be representing Sandra Bravo’s artful and surprising new expressions of a region we all love and crave an apposite new window into. These are the perfect wines for those who enjoy grabbing several bottles and opening one every few years to watch how it transforms.

Alberta CSPC/SKU #889827

2021 Rioja Blanco 

Rioja DOCa

“The primary aromas of white flowers give way to an elegant and complex background, with subtle toasted notes and pastry notes. In the mouth it is enveloping and silky, with a powerful acidity that allows a long-lasting aftertaste. Put this up against a village-level white Burgundy and prepare to be blown away by how good this wine really is. Pair with steamed mussels, grilled octopus, coconut curry, sole with beurre blanc, or rich creamy cheeses like Délice de Bourgogne.” 92 points, Tim Atkins MW.

“The very young white 2021 Blanco de Sierra de Toloño is mostly Viura with some Calagraño and Rojal that is pure, fresh and straightforward, with a floral touch and a tasty finish from what Sandra Bravo described as "the finest vintage of my life." The grapes ripened late, at the same time as the old-vine Tempranillo. It has 12.5% alcohol and a pH of 3.23, medium-bodied, fresh, vibrant and tasty. Great value. 9,000 bottles were filled in March 2022 after resting in tank with lees.” - 92 points, Wine Advocate.

92 Tim Atkin, 92 Wine Advocate

Region:  Rioja Alavesa

Appellation:  Rioja DOCa

Altitude:  630-680m

Soils:  Cretaceous limestone clay-calcareous soils above older sandstones and marls from the continental Tertiary period

Varietal:  100% Viura

Fermentation:  Spontaneous fermentation.

Ageing:  Aged six months on the lees, 90% in stainless and 10% in used French oak barriques.

Vineyard & Vine Age:  Villabuena. Biodynamic farming. Estate vines. Traditional goblet trained old bush-vines interplanted with the Tempranillo. 50-100 years old. Farmed and harvested by hand (into small 15kg crates to prevent premature crushing).

ABV:  12.5%

Produced Cases:  1000

Alberta CSPC/SKU #889828

2020 Rioja Tinto

Rioja DOCa

“The entry-level red 2020 Sierra de Toloño was produced with Tempranillo from Rivas de Tereso, fresh and energetic, representing the high-altitude vineyards produced in a simple way. It has 13.5% alcohol and a medium body with good freshness, clean berry flavors, vibrant acidity and fine tannins. 35,000 bottles produced, the largest production by far. It was bottled in July 2021 after eight months in neutral barrels.” — 91 points, Wine Advocate



92 Tim Atkin, 92 Jamie Goode

Region:  Rioja Alavesa

Appellation:  Rioja DOCa

Altitude:  630-740m

Soils:  Cretaceous limestone clay-calcareous soils above older sandstones and marls from the continental Tertiary period

Blend: Mainly Tempranillo with a small amount of traditional field blend varieties & mutations

Fermentation:  Spontaneous fermentation.

Ageing:  Aged eight months in neutral French oak barrels.

Vineyard & Vine Age:  Rivas de Tereso. Biodynamic farming. Estate vines. Traditional goblet trained old bush-vines. 40-100 years old. Farmed and harvested by hand (into small 15kg crates to prevent premature crushing).

ABV:  13.5%

Produced Cases:  2500

Alberta CSPC/SKU #889829

2021 La Dula Garnachas de Altura

Rioja DOCa

“This is the fourth vintage of Sandra Bravo's brilliant old-vine Garnacha from Rivas de Tereso and it's every bit as good as its predecessors. Aged in 300-litre clay amphoras. It's wonderfully perfumed and intense, with engaging bramble and red cherry fruit sweetness, fine tannins and a long, energetic palate.” — 96 points, Tim Atkin MW, Rioja 2023 Special Report.

96 Tim Atkin, 95 Jamie Goode

Region:  Rioja Alavesa

Appellation:  Rioja DOCa

Altitude:  700m+

Soils:  Cretaceous limestone clay-calcareous soils above older sandstones and marls from the continental Tertiary period

Blend:  100% Garnacha (with some old mutations of Garnacha Gris in the fields as well)

Fermentation: Slowly and spontaneously fermented in small oak foudres at a very low temperature.

Ageing:  Aged in 300L amphorae Unfined. Unfiltered.

Vineyard & Vine Age:  Biodynamic farming. Estate vines. Garnacha from several octogenarian plots of Garnacha at over 700 m, the last plots of Garnacha in the Sierra de Toloño. Traditional goblet trained old bush vines. Farmed and harvested by hand (into small 15kg crates to prevent premature crushing).

ABV:  14%

Produced Cases:  541

Alberta CSPC/SKU #8889830

2021 Nahikun Blanco

Rioja DOCa

"Five 'micro parcels' in Villabuena supply the raw material for this classic field blend of Viura with Calagraño, Malvasia and Rojal. Fermented and aged in older 500-litre barrels, it's a superb minimum intervention white with aromas of chamomile and subtle spices and a palate of quince, pear and yellow apple. Long and very well balanced." 95 points, White Wine of the Year - Tim Atkin, Rioja Report, 2023. Tim Atkin's White Wine Discovery of the Year in 2022.

95 Tim Atkin, 93 Wine Advocate

Region:  Rioja Alavesa

Appellation:  Rioja DOCa

Altitude:  630-680m

Soils:  Cretaceous limestone clay-calcareous soils above older sandstones and marls from the continental Tertiary period

Varietal:  Field blend of Viura, Malvasía, and the ancient indigenous white varieties of Rioja, Calagraño and Rojal.

Fermentation:  Fermented spontaneously.

Ageing:  Aged eight months in oak.

Vineyard & Vine Age:  From five special Estate micro-parcels, all vines over 80 years old. Biodynamic farming. Traditional goblet trained bush vines. Farmed and harvested by hand (into small 15kg crates to prevent premature crushing). Very low yield — less than 0.5kg/vine.

ABV:  12.5%

Produced Cases:  116

Alberta CSPC/SKU #889831

2019 Camino de Santa Cruz

Rioja DOCa

"The 2019 Camino de Santa Cruz comes from a plot of Tempranillo in the village of Rivas de Tereso on shallow limestone soils that fermented with indigenous yeasts in 300-liter amphorae and matured in 500-liter oak barrels for 12 months. It has balsamic aromas, sweet spices and integrated oak. It has good ripeness and balance with 14% alcohol and good freshness. 1,120 bottles were filled in November 2020." 92 points, Wine Advocate

93 Tim Atkin, 92 Wine Advocate

Region:  Rioja Alavesa

Appellation:  Rioja DOCa

Altitude: 650m+

Soils:  Cretaceous limestone clay-calcareous soils above older sandstones and marls from the continental Tertiary period

Varietal:  100% Tempranillo

Fermentation:  A slow spontaneous fermentation in amphorae at low temperature.

Ageing:  Aged one year in French oak barrels. Unfined and unfiltered.

Vineyard & Vine Age:  Rivas de Tereso. Sandra Bravo's finest single vineyard. Biodynamic farming. Estate vines. Traditional goblet trained old bush vines. Farmed and harvested by hand (into small 15kg crates to prevent premature crushing).

ABV:  14.0%

Produced Cases:  93