Ostoki
Mainly Garnacha…

Another rehabilitation project of an old Garnacha vineyard undertaken by Luis Moya Tortosa. The vineyard, owned by Antonio Sánchez and Mari Paz Goñi, is located near Pamplona (Navarra) in the steep hills of Ezkaba. A few years ago, they contacted Luis to make a wine from these 80 year-old vines. Thus was born Ostoki, which means the “place of leaves”, due to the many oak trees in the region. As recently as the 1940s, the hills around Pamplona were covered with vineyards. A rather rustic wine called txakolingorri (red txakoli) was made from grapes produced in the region and the wine was sold in bars and taverns in the city. With urban and industrial development, the production of txakolingorri became negligible and the vineyards were abandoned except for a few enthusiasts who continued to make their wine for personal consumption. As is often the case in old vineyards, several grape varieties were co-planted. Therefore, we find a little Tempranillo, Mazuela, Garnatxa Roya, Garnatxa Blanca, Monastrell, Viura and Moscatel. Everything is harvested together, fermented in stainless steel vats with native yeasts, then aged in 300-liter oak barrels and 54-liter demijohn for 10 months. Around 600 bottles produced for this second vintage bottled in January 2020.

Reviews

2018 Vintage

• The only wine I tasted from 2018 was the 2018 Ostoki, Garnacha from one of the few remaining vineyards that were used to produce the old red txakoli from Pamplona. 2018 was a higher-yielding year, and the grapes ripened slowly and managed to keep very good freshness (the bottled wine has a pH of 3.26). The vineyard is thought to be around 80 years of age, and like all the old vineyards, it’s mostly Garnacha but also has some individual vines of other varieties, such as Tempranillo, Mazuela, Garnatxa Roya, Garnatxa Blanca, Monastrell, Viura and Moscatel. It fermented in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts and matured in one used 300-liter oak barrel and 54-liter glass demijohns for 10 months. This wine is sold with no appellation of origin. It’s the most extreme and radical of the wines I tasted from Luis Moya, a young wine with a bright color and a wild nose of herbs, berries and flowers. The palate is sharp and has pungent flavors and acidity. It’s not a wine for all palates, but it has lots of character. I loved it!
  Only 600 bottles were filled in January 2020.
  93 pts — Luis Gutiérrez, The Wine Advocate #248 (Apr. 2020)