Tasting notes: Gomez Cruzado Rioja Predilecto
Gomez Cruzado Rioja Predilecto. Bright and aromatic with cherry and berry characters and a hint of liquorice. The palate is complex with layers of plum, bramble and forest fruits. All supported by fine tannins, and long and elegant on the finish.
Producer/Region :
Produced from grapes cultivated in the highest parts of the Ebro valley. Predominantly Garncaha (65%) from Alto Nejerilla, in the area between the towns of Badarán, Cordovin and Cárdenas where the vines grow in red ferrous clay soils. And Tempranillo (35%) from Samaniego, and the white limestone soils of Sierra Cantabria. Hand-harvested into 20kg crates with a selection of bunches at the winery. Garnacha and Tempranillo are destemmed and vinified separately. They undergo cold fermentation with native yeasts, and a short maceration. Then the two wines are assembled and refined in concrete for around 5 months.
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 now heads up the team. He has 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. He sources from almost a hundred different plots across 3 distinct regions. Alto Najerilla, Bajo Najerilla and Sierra Cantabria. Sierra Cantabria (Rioja Alta and Alavesa).
