So good. Who couldn’t like this wine so full of life? Very good value.” - Jancis Robinson MW, This is Rioja ‘unplugged’, Rioja ‘naked’, Rioja without any tinsel. If you would like to see what lies beneath the mask, in other words, Rioja without the effect of ageing in oak barrels, then you will love the bright florals and fresh berries picked from a wet hedgerow that you find in this brilliant value red from Gomez Cruzado. 14.5% alc. Drink now-2028.
We love this modern rendition of Rioja, predominantly made from Garnacha it is insanely perfumed and supple with bright aromatics of cherry and dark raspberry and a hint of liquorice. The palate is complex with layers of plum, bramble and forest fruits, all supported by fine tannins, and long and elegant on the finish.
The Details:
Country: Argentina
Region: Mendoza
Style: Rich, Juicy, Smooth
Grape: Garnacha & Tempranillo
Abv: 14.5%
Producer
The Gomez Cruzado winery sits at the very heart of Rioja Alta. This was in the day when the wine trade between Rioja and France passed along the Tudela-Bilbao line, and the key Rioja wineries were located around the station of Haro. The winery sits just 100m from the station to this day.
Produced from grapes cultivated in the highest parts of the Ebro valley. Predominantly Garncaha (65%) from Alto Nejerilla, in the area between the towns of Badarán, Cordovin and Cárdenas where the vines grow in red ferrous clay soils; and Tempranillo (35%) from Samaniego, and the white limestone soils of Sierra Cantabria. Hand-harvested into 20kg crates with a selection of bunches at the winery. Garnacha and Tempranillo are destemmed and vinified separately. They undergo cold fermentation with native yeasts, and a short maceration. Then the two wines are assembled and refined in concrete for around 5 months.
Reviews:The new young red 2022 El Predilecto recovers Predilecto, which was a historic brand of the house, a wine with less aging than the rest and more fruity character. In this case, they want it to show the fruit expression of the vineyard without oak. They call it the new old concept in Rioja, what the wines used to be before the arrival of the French, pure fruit. It's a blend of 65% Garnacha from Cárdenas and Cordovín and 35% Tempranillo from Samaniego that fermented destemmed but uncrushed (so not exactly a carbonic maceration) with clean and fresh aromas and flavors. It's ripe and hedonistic, with 14.5% alcohol and good freshness. It matured in concrete for five months." 92 pts Luis Gutiérrez The Wine Advocate.
