2018 Acentor Isaac Fernandez Seleccion 750 ml

When we heard that Isaac Fernandez, a veteran of nearly fifty vintages in Spain and nephew of Vega Sicilia superstar winemaker Mariano García, had a new project, our ears perked up. When we tasted the wine and found it to be lip-smackingly juicy and priced for case purchases, it was a no-brainer for us to lock up an allocation for Wine Access members.

The core of Fernandez’s work has always centered on Tempranillo, the backbone of Spain’s chart-topping reds. Truly one of the elite grapes of the world, Tempranillo is prized for its complexity, depth, and longevity. In the Acentor, Fernandez channels the power of Vega Sicilia into vivacious aromas of black currant, cherry, and plum before walking the Rioja tightrope of fresh fruit and alluring earthy notes of cedar, tobacco, and vanilla.

Wine Spectator hailed Fernandez as one of  Spain's “winemaking stars,”and a “prolific winemaker.” The 2018 Acentor beautifully exemplifies why: This ruby Tempranillo deftly combines world-class terroir with top winemaking expertise in a value red that could easily command twice the price. 

Today we’re blowing the lid off Fernandez’s micro-production Tempranillo with this soon-to-be-sold-out Rioja. Once more Acentor reaches our coasts, we expect a price hike to come swiftly, so stock up while this Rioja is still a bargain hunter’s dream. 

Fernandez has served at top Spanish wineries like Bodegas Mauro and Bodegas & Viñedos Neo, but it’s his personal projects (like Acentor) that routinely land on the critics’ lists of both top values and cellar-worthy reds. We agree with their sentiments, and love how the palate of his 2018 Acentor delivers a seamless balance of fruit, spice, and toasted oak notes.

With Acentor, Fernandez’s goal is to seek out old vines from small farms who don’t have the capacity to make their own wine. Here, he can bring his experience and expertise gained from working first at Bodegas Mauro and later elsewhere in Spain to bear in his own, promising new label. 

It’s not surprising that Fernandez’s Acentor has done so well right out of the gate. He got his start in 1972, working for his uncle in the cellar at Bodegas Mauro in Ribera del Duero, and hasn’t looked back since: In addition to 25 years as the winemaker at Mauro, in 1997 Fernandez started Bodegas y Viñedos San Roman in Toro before adding a slew of consulting to top estates like Marquès de Tomares to his résumé.

The fruit for Acentor’s Tempranillo debut comes from two parcels in the eastern part of Rioja, called Rioja Baja. The majority is Tempranillo from 45-year-old vines planted at around 2,000 feet above sea level, accented with Graciano from 30-year-old vines in a neighboring parcel which balances the bold Tempranillo with Graciano’s hallmark deep color and intense aromatics.

Both parcels are bush-trained and hand-harvested before fermentation with indigenous yeasts after a three-day cold maceration to further highlight the complex bouquet that is Acentor Rioja’s signature. Aging is for close to a year in partially new French oak. With a very broad range of flavor drawing both on fresh fruits—cherry, strawberry, and fig—and secondary elements including cedar, tobacco, and vanilla, the 2018 drinks effortlessly with the spice and depth gained from time in barrel.

Just the second wine in this new line, this Rioja promises even more greatness to come with a year or two in bottle.