Winemaker Notes
Montecillo Crianza maintains a cherry red color of surprising intensity. It is explosive on the nose, rich and lively with drive. Cooked red fruit dominates with a slight hint of blackberry. The oak appears after aeration, showing sweet notes and a seductive finish with notes of patisserie intertwined with the fruit. On the palate it is broad, round and very characteristic of the variety, with notes of ripe red fruit. Full of flavor. Multiple nuances appear on its journey through the palate, with balanced, powerful tannins that fill the mouth, bringing pleasure, and giving it a long, silky aftertaste. Exquisite acidity in combination with the tannins and juiciness that appears once again on the finish.
Rioja Crianza goes surprisingly well with tapas as well as expressing itself perfectly alongside more substantial meals, such as stews, lean meats, and charcuterie.
Hailed as the star red variety in Spain’s most celebrated wine region, Tempranillo from Rioja, or simply labeled, “Rioja,” produces elegant wines with complex notes of red and black fruit, crushed rock, leather, toast and tobacco, whose best examples are fully capable of decades of improvement in the cellar.
Rioja wines are typically a blend of fruit from its three sub-regions: Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Oriental, although specific sub-region (zonas), village (municipios) and vineyard (viñedo singular) wines can now be labeled. Rioja Alta and Alavesa, at the highest elevations, are considered to be the source of the brightest, most elegant fruit, while grapes from the warmer and drier, Rioja Oriental, produce wines with deep color, great body and richness.