Azpilicueta Crianza 2022

Azpilicueta is produced in the heart of Rioja, with fruit from vines averaging around 25 years at Fuenmayor in Rioja Alta. The blend is led by Tempranillo at 85 percent, with Graciano for acidity and aromatic lift and Mazuelo for colour and structure. The continental climate of the upper Ebro, tempered by the Sierra de Cantabria, gives warm days and cool nights that ripen the fruit steadily while holding acidity. The must ferments in stainless steel at a controlled 25 degrees, followed by around twelve days of maceration to draw colour and tannin from the skins. The wine then ages for twelve months in a mix of French and American oak barrels, where the American wood contributes vanilla and coconut and slow oxygen exchange rounds the tannins into the classic Crianza profile. The colour is bright cherry red with a garnet rim. The nose is fragrant, with ripe red fruit intertwined with toasted oak, sweet spice and a savoury note of tobacco and leather. The palate is medium bodied and balanced, the fruit and oak well integrated over fine tannins to a warm finish. Serve at 16 to 17 degrees. It is a natural match for roast lamb and aged Manchego.