Izadi Rioja Reserva 2021
£17.95
The wine
Reserva in Rioja requires three years of ageing before release, at least one of them in oak, though most serious producers exceed the minimum considerably.
Rioja Alavesa sits on chalk-clay soils in the shelter of the Sierra Cantabria, where altitude keeps the nights cold and Tempranillo ripens later and holds more acidity than in the warmer parts of the region. Izadi were founded expressly to make a fresher, more structured style than the classical Rioja model, using French oak more often than American and aiming the wine at the table rather than the cellar shelf. Izadi is based at Villabuena in Rioja Alavesa, the highest and coolest part of Rioja, founded in 1987 by Gonzalo Anton as a break from the traditional style and run today by his son Lalo.
The producer
Izadi
View all Izadi winesIzadi is based in Villabuena in Rioja Alavesa, the highest and coolest part of Rioja. The hillside winery, whose slope is steep enough to allow gravity-assisted production, was founded in 1987 by Gonzalo Antón as a deliberate break from the traditional style his family produced elsewhere. His son Lalo, who runs the estate now, puts the intention plainly: the whole concept started around wanting to produce wine to satisfy the needs of friends over a meal.
That is a more useful description of the house style than it sounds. Rioja's classical model ages wine in American oak for years before release, producing something distinctive but distinctly of its own era. Izadi make wines with fresher fruit and firmer structure, using French oak more often than American, aimed at the table rather than the cellar shelf.
Rioja Alavesa sits on chalk-clay soils in the shadow of the Sierra Cantabria, which shelters it from the worst of the Atlantic weather while altitude keeps the nights cold. Tempranillo grown here ripens later and holds more acidity than fruit from the warmer Rioja Baja, which is exactly what a fresher style depends on.
