Jesús Madrazo Rioja Num. IV 2021
Rioja DOCa, Spain·Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano, MerlotAdd a gift messageFREE
Why we chose it“Madrazo reckons this is his best Crianza style since he started in 2016, and the fifteen months in barrel then fifteen in tank shows. Damson, clove and pepper, and it wants roast lamb.”
Kelli - Wine Buyer
About this wine
The One He Calls His Best Crianza
Jesús Madrazo spent years making wine for one of Rioja's most respected houses before setting up on his own, and Num. IV is where his own thinking shows most clearly. Tempranillo makes up three quarters of the blend, grown high in Rioja Alta around the village of Cuzcurrita del Río Tirón, with Garnacha and Graciano from old family friends in Rioja Oriental and small parts of Maturana and Merlot. The colour is a deep red-purple, almost opaque, and the nose gives dark forest fruits and damson with clove and a delicate note of pepper.
The palate is elegant and textured, medium to full in body, with layered acidity from the Graciano and Maturana and warm, ripe tannins that are already well settled. It spent fifteen months in second and third use barrels, half French and half American, then a further fifteen months in stainless steel before bottling, which is a patient way to make a wine at this price. Madrazo himself calls it his best Crianza style since he began with the 2016. Serve it with roast lamb, a rib of beef, or a plate of aged Manchego.
About the producer
Where This Wine Comes From
Grown by Bodega Jesús Madrazo in Rioja, Spain — Tempranillo and Garnacha, shaped by the soils and seasons it calls home. Rioja's character, bottled.
Tempranillo
Spain's leading red. Cherry, leather, vanilla with oak ageing.
Garnacha
Juicy red fruit, soft tannins, high alcohol. The Spanish name for this grape.
