Herenza Crianza Kosher 2022

Herenza Crianza is a single variety Tempranillo from D.O.Ca. Rioja, made as a kosher wine by Elvi Wines with Bodegas Castillo de Sajazarra. The grapes are picked by hand in the middle of October at a very small yield, which concentrates the fruit, then destemmed and crushed and moved gently by peristaltic pump to protect the berries. Fermentation is held to a maximum of 26 degrees, a controlled temperature that preserves the primary red fruit and keeps extraction measured rather than heavy. The wine then spends twelve months in French and American oak. That barrel time allows a slow oxygen exchange that softens the tannin and rounds the texture, while American oak adds vanilla and coconut tones and French oak contributes finer clove and cedar spice. The colour is deep cherry red. The nose offers raspberry and ripe cherry over vanilla, tobacco leaf and leather, the classic markers of oak aged Rioja. The palate is medium bodied and balanced, with ripe tannin and a savoury, lightly spiced finish. Serve at 16 to 17 degrees in a Bordeaux glass. It is a natural match for roast lamb and aged Manchego.