Winemaker Notes
Good for Tapas, vegetables, cold meats and evening meals.
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
This comes from the López de Heredia family’s Cubillas vineyard, 59 acres of vines averaging 40 years of age, two-thirds of which are tempranillo, the balance planted to garnacha, mazuelo and graciano. They designate this vineyard’s wine as a Crianza, though it has the grandeur and elegance that takes it to a higher level. The lush fruit has scents of tart raspberries and sweet cherry compote, while a prickle of spice keeps it lean and classical in structure. That spiciness brings chorizo to mind, with which this would be delicious.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2005 Cubillo Tinto Crianza has a wonderful bouquet with leathery red fruit augmented by subtle hints of undergrowth, tobacco and a touch of spice. The palate is medium-bodied with a bit of piquancy on the entry. The acidity is quite sharp and it is missing a little flesh and weight towards the tensile finish. Drink now-2018.
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.