Tasting notes:

Established in Fuenmayor, Rioja Alta, Bodegas Altanza focuses on Tempranillo, grown on calcareous clay and some iron-rich clay and alluvial soils. The wine is aged in French oak barrels for 18 months and then in larger, older Allier oak barrels for three months before bottling, which allows the wine to integrate and mellow. With a deep ruby-garnet colour, the wine shows morello cherry and ripe strawberry fruit, accented by vanilla pod and roasted coffee beans. Dry and mid-weight, the palate flavours are balanced by crisp acidity and quite dense, linen-textured tannins. Well-integrated with layers of flavour, the wine has a lengthy, savoury finish. A really good pairing is Cajun jambalaya.  (Patricia Stefanowicz MW)