Arzuaga Crianza 2023

Arzuaga Crianza, Bodegas Arzuaga Navarro, Ribera del Duero, Spain, 2023  

Grapes: 95% Tempranillo and 5% Cabernet Sauvignon/Malbec/Garnacha/Merlot/Albillo, hand-picked fruit, optical selection table, fermentation in stainless steel tanks and 16 months' ageing in oak barrels (70% French & 30% American).

Producer Tasting Note:

Colour Cherry with violet hues. Aroma Highly aromatic, powerful nose with a predominance of ripe red fruits, spice and balsamic notes, with a roasted finish. Palate Great volume on the palate, providing soft and honeyed sensations and sweetness of fruit that lasts over time.

Critics' Tasting Notes:

"Colour ,deep cherry. Aroma ,ripe fruit, dried herbs, creamy oak, grassy, balsamic herbs. Flavour ,ripe fruit, spicy, round tannins."

91/100 points, GUIA PENIN, May 2025

Also awarded 91/100 points, Tim Atkin MW, 2025

Estate: The Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon varieties used to make this wine come from the oldest part of the La Planta estate in the La Maquinilla vineyard. The vines are grown at an altitude of 911 metres (2,989 feet) in chalky clay soil with the limestone bedrock just one metre below the surface. 20% of the grapes coming from hundred-year-old vineyards with pebble and sandy soils, in the area of the province of Burgos.

Bodegas Arzuaga Navarro, established by Florentino Arzuaga in the early 1990s, is based in the town of Quintanilla de Onésimo, Valladolid, in Castilla y Leon, north-western Spain and is a neighbour to the famous Vega Sicilia vineyards.

Food Match: Ideal accompaniment for red meat, white meat, large game and feathered game, roasted or in sauce. Blue fish and soft cheeses