Rioja offers many things to the world, especially a terroir that manages to produce the greatest Tempranillo anywhere. But it also offers something far simpler: mature wines that you can just buy, for a reasonable price, and then take home and drink.
Rioja’s system of Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva developed around the idea that the winery, rather than the customer, should do much of the aging. Producers held their wines through years in barrel and bottle, releasing them only once the fruit, tannins and oak had begun to settle into something more complex and harmonious. That tradition remains one of the region’s great practical virtues. You do not need to study a drinking window or hide the bottles in the cellar. You can buy a properly aged wine, open it for dinner and enjoy the character that time has already given it.
Sierra Cantabria belongs to the Eguren family, who have been growing grapes in Rioja since the nineteenth century. Their vineyards sit around San Vicente de la Sonsierra, on the cooler northern side of the Ebro beneath the Sierra de Cantabria mountains. This is Rioja Alavesa, where elevation, limestone-rich soils and protection from harsh weather help Tempranillo retain freshness even as it develops Rioja’s characteristic depth and warmth.
Sierra Cantabria continues to follow Rioja’s traditional aging system, which is why today we can offer its 2017 Rioja Reserva. The wine is already showing mature notes of black cherry, dried plum, tobacco and cedar, with settled tannins, good freshness and the complexity that only time can provide.
Sierra Cantabria Rioja 2017 - $36.99
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