As a wine lover I am partial to French, Italian and California grapes; can you blame me? Bias aside I recently came across a beautiful bottle from Spain that really impressed me. El Coto Rioja Crianz 2006 is a bottle that should stay in rotation in everyone’s wine cellar.

Rioja wine is made from grapes from the Rioja region and the neighboring  Navarre and the Basque province of Álava. Traditionally Rioja wines are aged in oak wood barrels.

“Rioja” is the youngest classification as it is only aged for under one year. “Crianza” is aged for at least two years. “Rioja Reserva” is aged for a minum of three years, of which at least one year is in oak. Finally, “Rioja Gran Reserva” is aged at least two years in oak and three years bottled. There is your lesson on Rioja, thank me later.

El Coto Rioja Crianza 2006 is a real tasty wine to say the least. On the nose I got aromas of earth and ripe red cherries. The flavor was a big show of dark fruit and with a long acidic finish.

This is a very well balanced medium bodied wine that is just begging to be paired with a hearty red meat entree or robust cheeses.

Priced under $20.00 dollars, the El Coto Rioja Crianza 2006 is a win. Cheers.