Whopper! And in short supply...!
This is a rare opportunity to get to show the Reserva-maniac in your life that there is life in other styles... this is a delicious, perfectly-aged and wonderfully smooth Crianza from a winery we have been working with for a good few years.
In the normal course of things, a Crianza's bottling run is quick and the sell-through is fast enough not to have older stocks knocking about the place. However, this can mean that you don't get to see how well Crianza wines can age.
This is a super case in point, because the Crianza here is over 6 years old, which is older than most commercially available Reservas! How come? Because I know some people who hadn't sold through their allocation of this Crianza before more came into their warehouse and they offered it to me!
This 6-year old Crianza now shows a lovely, softening richness of fruit in the palate and has a super array of maturing fruit characteristics - overripe dark strawberries with some dried berry, nutmeg and cinnamon spices developing, while the original vanilla still kicks around at the back. It's so tasty that you'll not believe it at the price point.
Lesson to learn? Try and find older Crianzas as they will often cost less than Reservas and offer similar thrills for less! Certainly when they come from a winery as good as this.
Second lesson to learn? Keep a look out for when I buy older stocks of wine - there's always a bargain and the quality will always be better than it should be!
The winery...
Made from 100% Tempranillo grapes, this is a hands-on winery, with sustainable practices, hand-harvesting in their vineyards and an area of over 120 hectares. With winery roots back to 1904, they have significant expertise and now have vines up to fifty years old, forming the backbone of their excellent wines.
Pomal is now part of the Bodegas Bilbainas who operate 15 wineries altogether. This group in turn is owned by the Raventos family who have it under the Cordoniù Cava house... complex, but it works in order to make sure that these specialist, niche wineries don't get overlooked and that their significant contributions to Spain's rich history is preserved and that their future potential is nurtured. Which is genuinely a good thing.
Aged in the winery, in Haro in the Rioja Alta subzone, it spent 12 months in American oak barrels and now a further five years in bottle!
Region: Rioja
Country: Spain
Grape(s): Tempranillo
Style: Svelte, Sustainable, Soft, Smooth, Silky, Medium Full, Juicy, Fleshy, Elegant, Dark, Complex, Bright
Best food matches: Roasts, Red Meats, Mature Cheeses, Charcuterie
Alcohol: 14%
