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 (winemaker) and Juan Antonio Leza (viticulturalist) now head up the winemaking team. They have 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. They source from almost a hundred different plots across 3 distinct regions: Alto Najerilla, Bajo Najerilla and Sierra Cantabria. Sierra Cantabria (Rioja Alta and Alavesa): Vines grow in poor, white, chalky-clay soils, on sunny slopes at the highest part of the sierra (up to 750m altitude) - where the Mediterranean and Atlantic climates meet. The area produces wines with freshness and elegance. Bajo Najerilla (Rioja Alta): in the triangle formed by the villages of Uruñuela, Cenicero and Torremontalbo, where the Najerilla river flows into the River Ebro. Tempranillo vines grown in alluvial soils at an average altitude of 500m – in a warmer, more temperate continental climate with a notable Mediterranean influence. Wines have high maturity and excellent ageing capacity. Alto Najerilla (Rioja Alta): Garnacha vines over 80 years old, planted in ferrous clay soil at around 750m altitude, on north-facing slopes near the Sierra de la Demanda. The continental climate confers strong fruitiness and marked acidity on the resulting wines.
Gomez Cruzado Rioja Predilecto 2021
14.5% abv
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.
Produced from grapes cultivated in the highest parts of the Ebro valley. Predominantly Garnacha (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.
- Reference #:
- 20022
- Strength
- 14.5 ABV
- Bottles per Case
- 6 bottles
- Grapes
- Garnacha, Tempranillo (Tinto Fino / Tinto Roriz / Tinto de Toro)
- Organic
- No
- Biodynamic
- No
- Vegan
- No
- Vegetarian
- No
- Sparkling
- No