Viña Otano, Rioja DOC Crianza (Spain) 2017

 I love the way this wine is styled.  Often Rioja Crianza ends up in a kind of vinous “no man’s land,” with too much oak to enjoy in the years immediately following release, but not quite enough guts to outlast the oak or age into something really worth the wait.  This is an exemplary case in counterpoint.  The fruit is quite ripe for a Rioja, and just a bit low in acidity, though that’s not a shortcoming for a wine made for early drinking.  The oak is also unusually reserved for the breed, with none of the “piney,” resinous character that inhibits early enjoyment.  The red cherry and berry flavors are very enjoyable, with just enough tannin to give the wine some backbone to stand up to food.  Wonderfully easy to enjoy, you could reach for this as a partner for a meal when you might be thinking about New World Pinot Noir (surprising as that may seem), and end up with a much better wine for a comparable sum of money.