ABV 14%
Olivier Rivière, a native of Cognac, studied enology in Montagne St-Emilion, worked briefly with Elian Da Ros in Côtes-du-Marmandais, then at Domaine Leroy in Vosne-Romanée. His main interest there was to learn about biodynamic methods. He went on to Domaine de Chassorney in St-Romain to see how unsulfited wines are made, then spent two years managing the now defunct Domaine de la Combe in Pommard.
His grapes come from three types of soils: the Graciano vines and part of the Tempranillo for the bottling of Rayos Uva grow on alluvial soils, sandy with round stones; the old vines Garnacha (65 to 90 years) that go into Ganko grow on red soil, with marl and sand colored by ferrous oxides, at an altitude of 600 meters in Rioja Alta; the best Tempranillo vines (25 years old) are in Rioja Alavesa, on clay and limestone soils at 650 meters. Altitude is extremely important to Rivière, the cool nights keep acidity in the grapes, so he can make much fresher wines than most in the region.
