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2005 Lopez de Heredia Rioja Vina Cubillo Crianza

Not Currently In Auction

Latest Sale Price

December 18, 2022 - $36

Estimate

RATINGS

91The Wine Advocate

...wonderful bouquet with leathery red fruit augmented by subtle hints of undergrowth, tobacco and a touch of spice...palate is medium-bodied...

91Vinous / IWC

Highly perfumed aromas of cherry, raspberry and baking spices, plus a hint of mocha. Sappy and seamless in texture, with very good depth and clarity to its spicy red fruit flavors. Fine-grained tannins come on late and add shape to the long, penetrating, spice-dominated finish.

REGION

Spain, Rioja

Rioja Demoninación de Origine Calificada is Spain’s most important wine region. Located in northern Spain, it comprises 135,000 vineyard acres and was the first official appellation in Spain, earning its official DO status in 1926. In 1991 it became Spain’s first DOCa, Spain’s most prestigious appellation category. The DOCa is divided into three subzones: La Rioja Alavesa in the northeast; La Rioja Alta in the southwest; and La Rioja Baja in the east. About 75 percent of Rioja wines are reds, with Tempranillo the predominant grape. Garnacha (Grenache), Mazuelo (Carignan) and Graciano, a spicy, high-acidity red grape, are also allowed. White wines are made from Macabeo, Garnacha Blanca and Malvasia. Wines were made in this region well before the Romans arrived, though the Romans then the medieval monks refined vineyard management and wine production. In the 19th century French families migrated to Rioja after phylloxera wiped out their vineyards, and the French helped establish the tradition of wine blends, still part of Rioja winemaking. According to the rules for the appellation, a wine labelled a simple Rioja can spend less than a year in an oak aging barrel. A Criziana is aged for at least two years, one in oak. Rioja Reserva is aged at least three years, with at least one in oak. A Rioja Gran Reserva must be aged at least five years, with two years in oak.