Montecillo Rioja Crianza
Montecillo Rioja Crianza, ine of Spain. Montecillo Crianza is a classic Rioja wine, with perfectly balanced red fruit and oak notes and an elegant and pleasant aftertaste, perfect for any occasion. The authentic Rioja. A renewed classic. Complex and balanced, perfect to enjoy in any occasion. An essential element in the Mediterranean diet, it goes surprisingly well with tapas as well as expressing itself perfectly alongside more substantial meals, such as pulse-based stews, lean meats, charcuterie and homemade stews.
Tempranillo is a red grape variety which forms the backbone of some of the finest wines from Spain and Portugal. It has also been successfully adopted in the New World, especially in California, Argentina and Australia. In 2020, Tempranillo was the third most planted grape variety in the world. The most searched-for Tempranillo wine on our list is Vega Sicilia Unico Gran Reserva. Tempranillo has strong roots in Spain where it translates to “little early one”, a name given to it by growers who observed its habit of ripening earlier than Garnacha (Grenache), its traditional Spanish blending partner and a majority of most other Spanish red grape varieties. Almost every red wine from Rioja and Ribera del Duero has Tempranillo at its core.
Rioja in Northern Spain is best known for berry-scented, barrel-aged red wines made from Tempranillo and Garnacha. It is arguably Spain’s top wine region. It is certainly the most famous, rivaled only by Jerez. The vineyards trace the course of the Ebro River for roughly 100 kilometers (60 miles) between the towns of Haro and Alfaro. Other than Tempranillo and Garnacha, Graciano and Mazuelo (Carignan) are also used in red Rioja wines. A few wineries, notably Marqués de Riscal, use small quantities of Cabernet Sauvignon. White grapes are much less widely planted.
Winemaking and aging:
- Alcoholic fermentation at controlled temperature of 24ºC.
- Cold maceration over 2 to 3 days.
- Second fermentation in underground vats.
- Barrel aging (oxidative) in high quality semi-new American oak barrels during 18 months.
- Bottle aging (reductive) for a minimum of 6 months prior to release.
