Lopez de Heredia "Cubillo" Rioja Crianza 2016

A medium-bodied, approachable red blend of tempranillo and grenache that is lightly tannic and brimming with notes of lush fruit. Pay homage to its roots by serving with traditional Spanish tapas.

It all started in the middle of the nineteenth century when French negociants visited the Rioja region to find alternative sources of quality grapes to transform into wine, since the phylloxera epidemic had decimated their vineyards. Don Rafael López de Heredia y Landeta, a knowledgeable and enthusiastic student in the art of wine making, followed closely in their footsteps. Don Rafael fell in love with the region and especially the area around Haro, the mythical capital of the Rioja Alta region. He observed that there was a magical combination of soil and climate that would offer the perfect environment for producing wine that would eventually become world famous. Around 1877 he began the design and construction of the complex that is today known as the López de Heredia bodega (winery), the oldest in Haro and one of the first three bodegas in the Rioja region. For over a century their emotions have been rooted in our love and passion for this land and its harvest. They cherish their heritage, and this combination of love and the rigorous quality standards we apply, have become our trademarks and remain the maxim for today and the future. Bodegas López de Heredia stands out as one of the few family-run bodegas regulated by the Denominación de Origen Calificada Rioja – DOC (Appellation region).

The Rioja DOC sits astride the Ebro river, as it winds its way from its source in the Sierra de Cantabria range, to the Mediterranean at it's mouth just below Barcelona. Divided into three subzones, wines of Rioja often depend largely on which part of the region the vines are grown.

To the northwest lies Rioja Alta, where Tempranillo and Garnacha vines grow on the higher elevations of the foothills of the Cantabrias. Next to it is the Basque region of Rioja Alavesa, where the Alava province juts into the Ebro Valley. To the southeast is the hotter, Mediterranean-influenced Rioja Baja, where more of the native Graciano is blended into the area's reds.

Rioja's wines have historically been simple reds, blended and aged in American oak. An influx of French winemaking practices led to more refined efforts at estate-bottling and more judicious use of oak, and more French oak at that. Nowadays the region is struggling to find a cohesive identity, producing excellent wines of both new and old world character.