Hacienda el Olmo Tempranillo 2020

Olmo is a classier-than-classical and very elegant crianza style. Gently fermented, it spends three weeks of temperature-controlled maceration, before ageing 14 months in new and old oak, mainly French. It’s purity of expression as genuine Rioja (Tempranillo + Terroir) and lack of winery artefact ensures it stands out from the pack of industrial crianzas.

Some earth and leather wander through strawberry and cherry, tobacco, earth, brush and undergrowth. There’s a gorgeous sweet seeds/tannin character effortlessly expressing the wine’s perfect ripeness, with an open, freely flowing palate framed by gentle grip and terrific natural acid freshness. The depth is impressive, with no heaviness, it’s all savoury glide and maintains a charming openness. While tannin and oak have contributed no doubt to the deft mouthfeel, it’s almost invisibly structured, super-subtle and unaffected.