“The super bargain of the portfolio has to be the red 2017 Viña Cubillo Tinto Crianza.” - The Wine Advocate

When I was in my early twenties, I was working in southern Spain and went to a local bar after work with a few of my Spanish colleagues. The alpha male among the group ordered a bottle of wine, something called ‘Rioja’, and a terracotta dish containing something fried, which the barman had cut into strips with a pair of scissors. The alpha proffered the dish towards me and I found myself in a circle of expectant Spanish men, staring at me as i picked out a piece to try and bit down. It had the texture of gristle and the flavour of something worryingly ‘close to the tail’. As I pulled a face of horrified revulsion (exaggerated for the purposes of amusing the group), I was told that it was pig’s ear and they all fell about laughing. Realising that the crunchy cartilage wasn’t going to disappear through chewing alone, but only break into infinitely smaller fractal elements, I grabbed a glass of the ‘Rioja’ and used it as a sort of mouth-flush. As the little shards of porcine lughole went down the hatch, I did stop to notice that the ‘Rioja’ had a faint note of plum and coconut, which I found rather pleasant.

Life coaches will tell you that you can always turn a negative experience into a positive one and that evening in that bar in Murcia has stuck with me, not so much because of the local ‘delicacy’ (have you ever noticed that local delicacies are rarely ‘delicate’?), but remembering the delicious flavour of that Rioja with its mellow, woodsy, soft-bellied fruit. I have loved Rioja ever since and if I had to pick one that represented everything I love about it, it would be the 'Vina Cubillo' from Bodegas R. Lopez de Heredia. Not only does it taste steadfastly ‘classic’, a fine-boned, juicy example of traditional Rioja, but it’s incredible value too. And who knows, it may have been the same wine I drank, all those years ago, in the first flush of youth. Enjoy it with oreja a la plancha. 13.5% alc. Drink now-2032.

Press reviews:

Tim Atkin MW: “Cubillo is always sold as a Crianza, partly because it's always been done that way, but has nothing whatsoever to do with the kind of high-volume wines you find on supermarket shelves. Pairing Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha and 5% each of Graciano and Mazuelo, all from the 80-year-old Cubillas vineyard, this is sweet and savoury, with lots of racy cranberry acidity and sinewy tannins.” 94 points

The Wine Advocate: “The super bargain of the portfolio has to be the red 2017 Viña Cubillo Tinto Crianza, which this year shows more development and faster aging, with more tertiary notes than the other reds from 2013 and 2014 that I tasted next to it. It has notes of damp earth, mushrooms, truffles and forest floor, dry leaves and decayed flowers and herbs. It has a polished palate and is medium-bodied, with mostly resolved tannins, and it feels a little lighter. But it's still worth it. It was produced with a blend of 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha and 5% each Graciano and Mazuelo from vines averaging 53 years of age. It fermented in their old oak vats and matured in used American oak barrels for three+ years. Drink now-2036.” 93 points