Viñedos de Sonsierra, Rioja (La Rioja, Spain) Viñedo de Altura 2023 ($46)

This is an excellent wine with very versatile and contemporary styling from a top-flight producer located in the Rioja Alta portion of Spain’s famed Rioja region. My reference to “contemporary styling” means that the winemaking team applied only a very light touch with oak, letting the delicious core of fruit in this wine shine in the spotlight. That fruit shows beautiful purity and freshness, with aromas and flavors that recall black cherries first, with red cherries and berries providing freshening undertones. Getting a great result from fruit that is just a click or two below the midpoint of medium-bodied in terms of physical weight requires good judgment—first—regarding the timing of harvesting and—second—skill in the winery to apply just the right touch of oak to provide a bit of spicy complexity without adding any astringency. Although there’s nothing heavy or aggressive about this, it packs more aroma and flavor than seems possible based on the wine’s lift and freshness. In this stylistic and organoleptic respect, it shows a characteristic to some of the world’s best Pinots from Burgundy, Oregon, and New Zealand (or the best Nebbiolo-based wines of Barbaresco). Utterly delicious, this will pair beautifully with almost anything from a simple roast chicken to lamb chops or a beef roast.
94 Michael Franz