2017 VINA CUBILLO CRIANZA RIOJA

TRY ME IF YOU LOVE: Classic Rioja

ABV: 13.5%

GRAPES: Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano and Mazuelo

TASTING NOTES: Ripe cherry, damson and liquorice aromas with notes of tobacco and leather, offering a silky texture, bright acidity and fine tannins. A fine-boned, juicy example of traditional Rioja, but it’s incredible value too.

PAIRS WITH: Pairs beautifully with roasted lamb, pork tenderloin, braised meats, and game. Its high acidity and savoury notes complement veggie stews, mushrooms, chorizo, and aged sheep’s cheese.

SERVE ME: Just below room temperature. Decant if you can an hour before drinking.

Beneath the town of Haro in Rioja lies the sprawling cellar of Bodegas R. López de Heredia. This dim underworld, with its mould, cobwebs, and special room known as ‘The Graveyard’, where the oldest and rarest bottles are kept, is a fitting home for Rioja’s most traditional producer.

Not much has changed here since 1877, when Rafael López de Heredia y Landeta set up his bodega to supply wines to the phylloxera-hit French market. The estate is still run by his great granddaughter María José, and the wines are still aged in big, used oak barrels for years before release. Outside, trends have come and gone, and López de Heredia, which never succumbed to modernisation, is rightfully fashionable once again. Indeed, we can think of no other producer who releases wines that are already mature, but which so consistently improve for years longer. Visiting María José again last month, we were mesmerised by white reservas from 1970 and 1971 that had many layers of flavour and gorgeous rich textures, but were still mouthwatering and fresh. And a sublime 1978 rosado (rosé) that paired beautifully with a local sweetbread speciality.