Familia Montana Rioja Crianza

The Montaña family’s roots run back to the very beginnings of the modern Rioja industry in the late 19th century, and the business was consolidated in 1920 around medieval cellars beneath Haro, the historic capital of Rioja Alta. Today Oscar Montaña oversees an estate of prime vineyards across Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa, the two highest, coolest and most elegant sub-zones, with a notably high average vine age. This Crianza is Tempranillo based, fermented in stainless steel and concrete and then aged about a year in used French and American oak, which seasons the wine without overwhelming it. The 2019 vintage was warm but balanced, and the wine reflects that with ripe red and black fruit, baking spice, and a savory, lightly toasted, balsamic edge, with firm but approachable tannins. It reads as classic Rioja, savory, structured and cellar-worthy, but cleaner and fresher than the old oxidative style, which makes it an easy bottle to pour for someone learning what Crianza actually means: a minimum of two years of aging, at least one of them in oak.