Ostatu Rioja Crianza '21

Bodegas Ostatu is a family winery located in the heart of the Basque Rioja Alavesa region, in the village of Samaniego. The Sáenz de Samaniego family has been farming in the area since the 16th century—for so many generations, in fact, that the family name and the village’s name are the same. The winery has been growing grapes for over 250 years.

The Ostatu Crianza is an outstanding value and introduction to the terruño-driven wines of village-designated Rioja Alavesa. All the grapes for this crianza come from exceptional, high-altitude, goblet-trained vineyards of organically farmed Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano, and Mazuelo grapes. Samaniego is one of the most important villages in Rioja, providing fruit of exceptional quality and structure, ideal for producing long-lived red and white wine. Samaniego is located where the Atlantic and the Mediterranean climatic influences converge, shaping the character of the vintages. Ostatu is Alavesa mountain wine, reflecting the tension and energy of an extreme climate.
 
Ostatu Crianza is a fruit-driven and lively wine, with a singular personality derived from the addition of 20% to 30% carbonic maceration wine in the blend, which is traditional in Rioja Alavesa. After a manual harvest, some of the grapes undergo a partial carbonic maceration (whole clusters are placed in tanks), and fermentation begins intracellularly. The rest are destemmed and undergo fermentation with native yeasts in small stainless steel tanks. Malolactic fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks. The wine is then racked into new and used 225-liter French oak barrels for 12 months of aging, bottled without stabilization and with minimal filtration.

Elegant aromas of blackberry, fig, and spice. On the palate, the wine is medium bodied, with soft structure, and more dark fruit and spice. If you taste a lot of inexpensive Rioja like we do, you will agree with us that this is just so balanced, delicious, and well done. Ostatu has come a long way over the years, and this is simply one of the best value red Rioja being made today!