Azpilicueta Colección Privada 2020

Azpilicueta Colección Privada is a Rioja red from the Azpilicueta winery in Logroño, part of the Pernod Ricard group. It is built on Tempranillo with Graciano for acidity and aromatic lift and Mazuela for colour and structure, the classic Rioja trio. Rioja sits in a sheltered valley along the Ebro where Atlantic and Mediterranean influences meet, giving the long, even ripening that Tempranillo needs to hold its bright fruit and fine tannin. The grapes are destemmed and pressed, then fermented at a controlled twenty-five degrees with a fifteen-day maceration to extract colour, fruit and tannin. The wine then spends twelve months in American oak, the traditional choice in Rioja, whose wider grain and sweeter aromatics lend the vanilla and sweet spice signature alongside the slow softening of the tannins through oxygen exchange. The 2020 is bright cherry red. The nose shows ripe red cherry and plum over vanilla, sweet spice and tobacco. The palate is medium to full and rounded, with supple tannin, fresh acidity and a savoury, lightly leathery finish. Serve at 16 to 18C. It works well with roast lamb, grilled beef and aged Manchego.