By now, almost every SommSelect subscriber has seen or tasted Bordeaux’s Château Chantecler, a Pauillac marvel that remains incredibly affordable despite being surrounded by both Rothschilds and Pontet-Canet. Keep that in mind today while we shift your attention 200 miles southwest to Haro, the beating heart of Rioja. Like Pauillac, it is here where you’ll find the densest concentration of time-honored producers handcrafting some of the world’s greatest cellar-worthy reds.
Seriously: López de Heredia, La Rioja Alta, and Muga form a tiny triangle in Haro that makes up a super-elite trinity of Rioja wines—and guess who’s hiding smack-dab in the middle of them all? None other than Gómez Cruzado, and while they aren’t international superstars (yet), they’re also far from a fledgling winery (est. 1886). This under-the-radar presence, combined with the world’s most renowned Tempranillo terroir and the same absurdly long aging process that put Rioja on the map, makes for one of the finest red values out there. Where else does the winery effectively age the wine for you before releasing it for so little? How can they afford to hold back all this inventory without filing for Chapter 11? We’ve learned not to lose any more sleep over questions like this—instead, we buy as much as possible, hoping Rioja’s good days never become the good ol’ days. Note: One taste of Gómez Cruzado’s sleek, polished, and utterly savory 2012 Reserva (their current release!) will hook you for good.
Although Gómez Cruzado wines go back well over a century, the property received a huge shot in the arm when it was acquired by the Baños family in 2000. In addition to making significant investments in the winery facility and vineyards, they hired the consulting duo of David González and Juan Antonio Leza, who’ve been directing the winemaking and viticulture since 2008. In addition to the historic winery in Haro, they farm a treasure trove of old-vine sites in the Rioja Alta sub-zone. It is here, in the Sierra Cantabria foothills, where Tempranillo thrives.
Comprised mostly of bush-trained vines (some as old as 80 years), the Cruzado holdings are in diverse Rioja Alta terroirs: For this Reserva bottling, some fruit comes from clay/limestone soils in the high-altitude Sierra Cantabria foothills, while the remaining comes from low-lying alluvial sites along the Najerilla River. The growing season of 2012 saw lower yields than usual, which for them meant a wine capable of great aging potential. All grapes were hand-harvested in small bins and shuttled over to the winery to begin a cold maceration. After fermentation, the wine aged 18 months in equal parts new and second-year French and American oak, followed by two years of bottle aging before release. This 2012 represents their current ‘Reserva’ release!
A delicious melding of traditional and modern Rioja, this 2012 Reserva adds a fresh coat of rich, ripe fruit over a leathery, crushed mineral base. In the glass, the wine reveals dense ruby-garnet notes that transition to a brilliant brick-orange rim. This wine is bursting with explosive, nonstop aromatics! It’s for those who love the infusion of oak notes—baking spice, vanilla bean, coconut, and sandalwood—with luscious fruits like black cherry, plums, and black raspberry. But the wine isn’t done there: After a few minutes in a decanter, savory notes of pipe tobacco, vintage leather, dried herbs, and violets quickly fall into place. One of the beauties of Gómez Cruzado is their ability to preserve classic notes of Rioja without being dried out and dusty: The nearly full-bodied palate very much confirms the nose as you get to appreciate the wonderful core of fruit alongside refined tannins and layers of richness—all while retaining impressive acidity. Allow 30 minutes for a brief decant and drink in Bordeaux stems around 60-65 degrees. As Cruzado has done the bulk of aging for us, you can certainly enjoy this bottle now or anytime over the next decade. Wine hardly gets more fulfilling in this price range, so take a few handfuls and match it with a number of occasions—just make sure to save a bottle to consume alongside a succulent leg of lamb, prepared on the grill. Cheers!
