Price: $15.99
Sale Price: $13.97
Traditionally, Spanish reds (especially Rioja) are subject to rigid ageing requirements – wood has always been inexorable from the winemaking custom, often putting the touch of the winemaker front and center. Brothers Arturo and Kike de Miguel buck that convention and place emphasis, instead, on their fantastic terroir, shirking the typical Crianza, Reserva, and Gran Reserva wood ageing designations in favor of a focus on site specificity. Set as they are in Rioja Alavesa, a sub-zone in the north of the region known for its elevation, chalky clay limestone, and cool temperatures, their terroir is fully worthy of the spotlight. Their entry level is mainly Tempranillo with a little Gracciano and Viura, and it proves the potential of their approach: a pop of blueberry and red plum fruit followed by savory tones of thyme and lavender on the palate and a whisper of smoke. Organically produced and spontaneously fermented by indigenous, naturally occurring yeasts. This is the perfect red for a certain holiday involving a large roasted bird coming up – it’s made using semi-carbonic maceration, much like that most traditional of Thanksgiving wines: Beaujolais. That means the grapes are crushed under their own weight as opposed to using a press or the like, which creates juicy, fleshy, fruity pleasure-ability. It will match swimmingly with dark meat poultry, all the fixings, football, and a post-meal nice nap.
