The Gómez Cruzado winery dates back to 1886 when Angel Gómez de Arteche started to produce and bottle his own wine in Haro, 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. Subsequently bought by Angel and Jesus Gomez Cruzado in 1916, and more recently by the Baños family, David González (winemaker) and Juan Antonio Leza (viticulturalist) now head up the winemaking team. They have been working with Gomez Cruzado for over 10 years, crafting wines from vineyards of old bush vines in the most elevated areas of Rioja Alta and Alavesa. Vines grow in poor, white, chalky-clay soils, on sunny slopes at the highest part of the sierra (up to 750m altitude) - where the Mediterranean and Atlantic climates meet. The area produces wines with freshness and elegance.

The old bush-trained Garnacha vines are planted in red ferrous-clay soils in the rolling hills of Badarán (near the upper Nejerilla), due south of Haro. The vineyards are north facing at around 650m altitude. The grapes are sorted by hand at the winery.

After fermentation in stainless steel, gently plunging the cap, malolactic fermentation takes place - 65% in new French oak and 35% in egg-shaped concrete tanks. The resulting wine is blended and bottled.

Lamb, steak or braised meats.

Tim Atkin 96 Points and one of his Wines of the Year 2025
It has aromas of garrigue, mint and rose petal, a hint of good reduction, raspberry, plum and black cherry fruit and a taut, mineral finish complemented by very subtle oak.