Ben says
★ Good Wine “Deep, almost purplish hue with a symphony of legs around the glass. Incredibly ripe nose full of baked and dried strawberries and caramel. Some earthy, pepperiness stops it going fully over the top and smelling jammy. The palate shows how young the wine is with jabs of plummy fruit, muddy tannins, black pepper and raw oak influence, something closer to caramel than toast. The wine has great acidity and intensity but hasn’t pulled together yet and needs a couple of years to settle out. Still a good Rioja, it’s just sleeping…“
KEY POINTS
Varietal Tempranillo with 13.5% abv. Stainless steel fermentation with regular pump overs to extract tannin and colour before ageing in oak barrels, both French (~25%) and American (~75%), of which 20% was new oak, for 16 months. The wine spent a further 2 years in bottle prior to release.
Grown in: Rioja Alavesa, SPAIN.
Food Pairing
Needs something hearty like rich beef stews, lasagne (with plenty of wine used in the sauce), or steak and ale pie and mash.
Disclosure & Price
Purchased as a half bottle at full price in a subscription from The Little Fine Wine Co. £17.95 for 75cl from Lekker Wines.
Reviewed and tasted: 11/12/2023
About the Producer
Izadi was founded in 1987 by Gonzalo Anton, along with friends and business partners. Anton comes from a family of Michelin-starred restauranteurs. Today Lalo Anton manages the winery in Rioja, along with the family’s estates in Toro, Ribera del Duero and Rueda. Izadi’s vines are in the Rioja Alavesa, one of the most prized Rioja regions that partially borders France, often giving more freshness due to higher altitude plots. The wines are made by Roberto Vicente.
