Bodega Lanzaga Rioja 'Lanzaga'

Lanzaga is the project of famed "driving winemaker" Telmo Rodriguez. Born into the Remelluri Estate, Telmo is very driven, and with Lanzaga, he is searching for the soul of Rioja. All of the wines under this label come from the village of Lanciego, in the foothills of the Sierra de Cantabria Mountains. Telmo picked this zone because it reflects the contrasting contributions of Mediterranean and Atlantic influences.

His 2019 Lanzaga is a triumphant wine. It is a selection of the best fruit from five exceptional parcels, located on both limestone slopes and sandstone plateaus at 450- to 650-meters elevation. As such, Lanzaga represents all of the following values: “respect of the place, bush pruning, field blend, organic viticulture, concrete fermentation, aging in foudres and barrels of different sizes and origins, keeping always a limited production of human size.” It is, in short, a beautiful representation of its village, as was made prior to the Bordelais’ arrival in the mid- to late-1800s.