Dear *|FNAME|*,

The 2013 Viña Cubillo Crianza from one of Spain’s most revered producers, 145-year-old López de Heredia, is among the best young reds of the vintage and completely ‘overdelivers’, writes Wine Advocate. Whilst the Cubillo is meant to be their entry-level wine, it offers up elegance and complexity in spades.

The main difference between López de Heredia and the rest of Rioja is their traditional approach to winemaking. Tempranillo is blended with Garnacha, Mazuelo and Graciano, producing a lighter, more ethereal style of red. The grapes are also picked at lower alcohols and aged far longer than the appellation dictates. In fact, their Cubillo Crianza is aged for longer than the legally required minimum for Gran Reserva Rioja!

The wines of López de Heredia are oxidatively styled, finely elegant, and have a depth of umami flavour that makes them so food-friendly. Viña Cubillo is a blend of 65% Tempranillo, 25% Garnacha, 5% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo from 50-year-old vines and is aged in barrique for three years. 2013 was a cool vintage, with a lot more rain and even hailstorms, which resulted in lower yields, but immense fruit purity and freshness. Is there better value in the wine world?

López de Heredia’s wines have become almost unattainable. Luis Gutiérrez of Wine Advocate agrees, stating: ‘The wines are superb, but they are becoming scarce, and I think the situation will get even worse in the future.’ Buy them by the caseload, while you can.

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Vinous regards,

Tasting notes

López de Heredia, Viña Cubillo Crianza 2013

‘Enticing aromas of blackberries, leather and cedar with some dried flowers follow through to a medium to full body with firm tannins and a fresh, citrusy finish. Very traditional and real.’ – James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com, 93/100

‘2013 was a very tough vintage when they had to discard up to 100,000 kilograms of grapes and production of most of the wines was lower; it's also the year when their father died, and they were very encouraged to make very good wines. The 2013 Viña Cubillo Tinto Crianza is the entry-level red from that year, the cooler of the shortlist of 2013, 2014 and 2015 I tasted next to each other. The wine is more austere even within the style they say is their wine for the by-the-glass market. It's classical and developed with a polished palate after three years in barrel. It overdelivers for the conditions of the year.’ – Luis Gutiérrez, Wine Advocate, 92+/100

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