Arínzano: the masterful taste of Northern Spain

Arínzano in Northern Spain makes award-winning wines from 128 hectares of vineyards of Chardonnay, Merlot and Tempranillo grapes, located on the cool banks of the Ega River.

The estate has been successively owned by monks, lords and wine families, but it has always been linked to wine. Situated in a valley of the Sierra de Cantabria and the Sierra de Urbasa mountains, a corridor of air makes it five degrees cooler than neighbouring areas, with the growing period being long and slow, allowing for the creation of subtle and elegant wines.

The vineyards are planted on soils formed by marls, sands, limestones and limonites from the Neogene era, together with gypsum and dolomites from the Triassic. Each of the varieties was planted on a specific soil type and orientation of the estate; those best suited to its cultivation.

Arínzano was the first winery in Northern Spain and the seventh in Spain to obtain the prestigious Vino de Pago classification, which is awarded to wineries that demonstrate an excellent and unique climate, terroir and winemaking philosophy, which crystallize into extraordinary wines. It takes 10 years to obtain the classification, after going through Spanish and European approval.

Winemaker José Manuel Rodríguez, who was previously responsible for winery and winemaking operations at Numanthia Termes (LVMH Group) for six years, is obsessed with finding the best expressions of terroir, through perfect ripeness in the vineyard and minimal intervention in the winery.

Through the use of  drones and satellite images as well as regular tastings, the winery uses technology to discover the behaviour of each vine in the different terroirs of the estate. This allows the winemaking team to make the best decisions in the field during the different growing seasons, and subsequently for it to achieve three unique interpretations of Chardonnay, Merlot and Tempranillo.

Read on for Patrick Schmitt MW’s tasting notes for some of Arínzano’s top wines.

Hacienda de Arínzano Chardonnay 2021

Quite deep lemon-yellow with nice depth, and gentle peanut notes with a touch of creaminess leading to stone fruit with ripe pear and melon too. Long, with some fine grip, and a touch of apple freshness, the core of this wine is ripe stone fruit with that signature creaminess and background peanutty character. A youthful wine with potential.

Arínzano Gran Vino Blanco 2017

A deep lemon-yellow, perfumed wine giving bruised apple, dried fruit, beeswax, nuts and vanilla, with a caramelised note. There is dried and slightly bruised apple on the palate, and fresh, zesty acidity too, with vanilla and caramel, a touch of aged hard cheese giving way to a grippy, warming finish with some salty fino-like character too. This is a complex, layered and interesting aged white that would be a good accompaniment to cheese.

A de Arínzano 2022

Pale salmon pink, the wine has lovely ripe, strawberry fruit with a touch of jam. Ripe, juicy strawberry and cherry on the palate, with some creamy pear and red apple, and a hint of citrus zest. The core is fruity but not sweet, and the finish is dry and finely tannic, with a chalky taste and texture, a touch varnishy, with nice balance. A good alternative to fine Provençal rose.

Arínzano Merlot Agricultura Biológica 2018

Deep ruby red with a delicate nose, some stewed red and black fruit, cherries and cedar. The palate has lots of dense, ripe stewed red dark fruit, with some sweet full red cherry too, and a touch of black pepper. Fine-grained, firm, dry tannin, some alcohol warmth, but with soft layers of very mature fruit. Structured, long and impressive; a big and juicy, fleshy red with warming alcohol and masses of ripe tannin.

Hacienda de Arínzano Tempranillo 2019

Deep ruby with crushed strawberry aromatics and lovely fleshy, ripe, sweet strawberry and cherry on the palate, there is a touch of jam and spice with some background cedar, and a hint of vanilla. Some sour cherry freshness too. Plenty of grippy, slightly chewy tannin. A powerful, warming red that is impressive in its youth.

La Casona de Arínzano 2015

Deep ruby with ripe, stewed dark cherries and cedar on the nose. The palate has red and dark fruit with a hint of dark chocolate, cedar, some spice, cocoa powder and blackberry and a long dry finish. Plenty of mouth-coating fine tannin, gently warming, but not too hot. This is a structured, concentrated wine with plenty of blackcurrant and cherry, fresh raspberries too and a hint of strawberry jam. Just starting to mature, but with masses of potential.

Arínzano Gran Vino Tinto 2016

A deep, opaque ruby, this is a rich, powerful, concentrated wine with coconut, dark chocolate and cedar, sweet ripe red and dark berry fruit, and a hint of sweet balsamic and prune. A long finish, with warmth, chewy, dry tannin, and fruit that’s starting to mature, with a touch of cigar box and some cracked pepper too. Soft and juicy now but with plenty of chewy tannins to age for many more years. Very impressive.

The wines are seeking distribution in the UK.

Please contact:
Jevgenijs Suscinskis
Sales Director
jsuscinskis@stoli.com
+371 26 304 816