Tempranillo with some Viura and Malvasia from Rioja Alaveza, Rioja, Spain; medium to medium plus bodied and dry with notes of raspberry, red cherry, blueberry, mushroom, leather, herbs, salted caramel, brown butter, balsamic, and flowers, with medium acidity, big angular tannins, and a dry finish. Organic, pending certification

Unfiltered Wine Club March 2025:

"Our final wine of the month comes from Rioja Alaveza, Spain, but isn’t a typical representation of wines from the region. This wine is fermented and aged in concrete tanks without the use of oak (a shocker in Rioja), and it ferments via carbonic maceration (even bigger shocker). This style of fermentation is more prevalent in Beaujolais, and involves placing whole, uncrushed berries in a sealed vessel and pumping in CO2. This causes the berries to begin to ferment from the inside and they burst without the skins being agitated, resulting in a cleaner, brighter, lower-tannin wine. Herrigoia’s tannins are still big, dry, and angular though, as it’s made from the thick-skinned Tempranillo grape (with the white varieties Viura and Malvasia mixed in). This wine goes on and on in complexity, with notes of raspberry, red cherry, blueberry, mushroom, leather, herbs, salted caramel, brown butter, balsamic, and flowers. Its balanced acidity makes it super food-friendly. I’d pair this with burgers, steaks, grilled portobellos, lentils, stews, and most importantly, cheese fondu."