Farming Organic
Soil Calcareous Clay
Varieties Tempranillo, Mazuelo
Alcohol 13%
Size 750ml
Winemaking Fermented with indigenous yeasts in concrete tanks, aged fourteen months in American oak barrels and then rested in concrete vats before bottling.
Pairings  patatas a la riojana, bean/chorizo stew, lamb chops more Jamon Iberico & manchego.

This Rioja Crianza is for the traditionalists! This old school Rioja is aged for 2 years in American oak and has all the vanilla, spice and pepper you'd expect. However, This is not a big flabby Red. There's a touch of Mazuelo blended in which gives the wine good acidity with the structure.

About the Producer:

Casa Juan is a family-owned and operated bodega in La Guardia, run by Angel Escudero and his family. While the family has been growing vines for years, it wasn’t until 1995 that Angel and his wife Anaceli decided to create a brand and make their own wine. Their bodega is located within the beautiful, walled Rioja Alavesa village of Laguardia and they offer up a terrific range of Riojas that are honest, detailed, and soulful expressions of both the region and their terroir. The wines typically contain mostly Tempranillo, with up to 15% Mazuelo. While the vineyards are mature, some up to 100 years old, and farmed with great care, where Angel really lights up is in the cellar. Primary fermentation occurs always with indigenous yeasts in concrete tanks, where the wines are eventually racked to barrels, which are used up to 7 years and consist primarily of American oak. Angel swears by one local cooper in particular, someone whose barrels I have never seen anywhere else. Some of these are marked, once again, with some rarely seen traits: Pennsylvania oak, LT (light toast instead of the ubiquitous MT). Prior to bottling, Angel is careful to let wine from various barrels come together in tank after blending, and before he sells the wine he always prefers to age it in bottle until he thinks it is starting to drink to his liking. These wines are articulate  and worthy of contemplation, but also gregarious and lots of fun, like the man who makes them.