A Rioja of Burgundian style, full of character and fresh acidity with appealing aromatics.
Poised, yet complex nose with notes of honeysuckle, stone fruit and gentle toasty oak. The palate is beautifully textured, with an almost exotic note, evident yet perfectly integrated oak and ripe fruit. Complex and with a long toasty, citrus finish.
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 Bańos 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 Viura and Tempranillo Blanco grapes are harvested from a single plot, slightly sloping, in a high altitude area of Haro. The soil is stony alluvial - with pebbles on the surface and limestone below.
The vines are low yielding, and harvesting is by hand into 200kg crates. The grapes are hand-sorted at the winery then lightly pressed (around half the stems are included) and spontaneous fermentation occurs. Alcoholic fermentation is in stainless steel at 16şC, then half the wine spends 5 months in French oak (not roasted, steam bending) with its lees, and half is aged with lees in concrete. The parts are then blended and bottled.
Roast chicken and pasta dishes with creamy sauces
Mike Best MW - "It is fantastic to see Gómez Cruzado recognised for their continued and remarkable improvements in the Wine Merchant Top 100. This blend of Viura, Tempranillo and Garnacha Blanca is spontaneously fermented and aged on lees, a third spends five months in blonde toast French oak barrels. At 10% of the region's production, white Rioja offers intrigue to customers exposed to the ubiquitous red alternatives. The style should be immediately appealing to those who like fresh, but textured whites with subtle use of oak. This vintage appears particularly fresh and harmonious."
Wine Merchant Top 100 2023
