Anza 2019

I was surprised by the freshness of the 2019 Anza, a red produced with grapes from vineyards close to the Sierra Cantabria Mountains. The wine does have a lot of freshness, with a pH of 3.4 and moderate alcohol (13.5%) from grapes he harvested quite early and from a cool part of Rioja Alavesa even if the vintage was very dry and warm. The old vines always have a field blend with a majority of Tempranillo but also white Viura and Malvasía or reds Graciano and Garnacha; it fermented destemmed and with a gentle extraction in oak and stainless steel vats and matured in 500-liter oak barrel for 10 months, as he doesn't want any oak aromas in his wines. It's aromatic, balanced, fresh and elegant and super drinkable but not banal or lacking complexity. It's serious and elegant, truly delicious and with a velvety palate. 11,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in August 2020