Rioja, Bodega Lanzaga 2021

The Rioja red 2021 Lanzaga is their village wine from Lanciego (but it's crossed out on the label). It's subtler but powerful and produced each year with better vineyards. The vines are getting older, and there is more of a varietal mix (it has only 55% Tempranillo) with lots of Garnacha and Graciano. It's perfumed and clean, a great result of a blending exercise, with integrated oak. It has 14% alcohol, a pH of 3.7 and moderate acidity, but there's a sense of much more freshness, with very fine and elegant tannins, velvety, the signature of the year. It doesn't have a Burgundy bottle, and it's not sealed with wax, but it's a lot more elegant and with a profile that has gradually changed since 2014 or 2015. It matured in 1,500- and 2,500-liter oak vats and some 225-liter barrels for 14 months. It's probably better than ever.

Named after the nearby village of Lanciego, which supplies grapes from a series of organically farmed plots between 20 and 80 years of age, this is tight, deeply coloured and well structured, with garrigue and tapenade aromas and a palate of blood orange and damson that's lifted and freshened by acidity.

Intended as a vin de village, the 2021 Lanzaga is a field blend from the best parcels of one village of varying soil types, organically farmed. Deliciously inviting in crisp red fruit, it has a remarkably silky texture and length, benefitting from a healthy amount of Graciano that keeps it fresh and energetic. The finish is ample in balsamic undertones and a hint of dried herb. Drink it now and over the next 10-15 years.