MARQUES DE RISCAL TASTING CARDS

Aroma: Complex aromas offering an initial impact of vanilla and coconut on
the nose.Colour: Moderate with a ruby red rim and darkness in the bowl of the glass.

2 0 0 3 RISCAL 1860 Castilla y León Country wine

Grape Variety: Tempranillo 100%
Alcoholic Strength: 13,5º
Total Acidity: 4.7
P.H.: 3.68
Controlled fermentation at 24 º C, 6 months in American oak cask 0

Marqués de Riscal, pioneers in making the finest quality wines in Rioja and
Rueda, have embarked on a new adventure with the production of a top
profile wine outside the D.O. Rioja appellation. This wine has been created
within the context of total liberty in the vinification process but using only the
grapes from the most select plots and Tinta de Toro vines grown on gravely
soils in alluvial vineyards in the region of the River Duero.
This variety produces highly aromatic wines with a full body and colour, good
backbone and possessing freshness and intensity. § During harvesting, which
is carefully controlled by the Riscal technical department, only ripe Tinta de
Toro grapes which have received plenty of sunshine are picked and then
placed in crates with a maximum capacity of 18 kilos so as to avoid the
berries getting broken or crushed.

CLIMATOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
As in Rioja, the 2003 farming year was characterised by a rainy start, in sharp
contrast to the scarcity of rainfall the previous year. The humidity content of
the soil reached very high levels, which with the absence of the typical spring
frosts of this area, allowed correct budding to occur. The summer was also
very hot and dry, but this did not have a negative effect on the healthy
condition of the vines. The weeks leading up to the harvest – in contrast to in
Rioja – there was no rain and temperatures dropped considerably, which
meant that no fungal diseases such as botrytis appeared. The grapes were
harvested in optimum qualitative and quantitative conditions.

SENSORY CHARACTERISTICS
Aroma: Complex aromas offering an initial impact of vanilla and coconut on
the nose, quickly evolving in the glass towards aromatic hints of butter,
without losing the first impressions.
Colour: Moderate with a ruby red rim and darkness in the bowl of the glass.
Mouth: Very moderate acidity and soft impression on the gums which
develops as it spreads across the palate, with a sensation of smoothness
focussed in the upper part, leaving a freshness on the soft palate and with a
caramel taste emerging under the tongue. The vapour entering the retronasal
cavity reveal the oakiness more directly than on the nose itself.