Origins Spain, Rioja
Style Dry red wine
Grape Tempranillo

The 2006 Rioja Crianza is an intense, dense and youthful ruby colour.  Made from 100% Tempranillo, the vanilla oak perfumes are well integrated with the juicy black fruit on the palate and fine, savoury tannins linger into the finish.Izadi sources their fruit from 186 hectares of vineyard.  All the vineyards are either owned or leased on long-term contracts, so they have full control over production.  All the vineyards employ traditional bush training, a method which Izadi believes gives better exposure of the grapes, in turn leading to better ripeness and softer, fuller wines. The vineyards are situated at 600 metres above sea level so warm days give way to cool nights, encouraging the aromatic qualities in the grapes to develop.

Izadi is based in Villabuena, a town of 300 inhabitants and 35 wineries in the Rioja Alavesa, the highest part of Rioja - the precipitous slope allows for gravity assisted production.  The hillside winery was founded in 1987 by Gonzalo Anton as a modern breakaway from the traditional style of wine produced by other members of his family. As his son, Lalo, says ‘the whole concept of Izadi really started around wanting to produce wine to satisfy the needs of our friends over a meal’.  The winemaking philosophy is beautifully simple, as Lalo explains: ‘Flexibility is the key – we follow a style but conditions change with each vintage. Order, flexibility and cleanliness are the keys for us to produce modern, international wines that are true to their roots and a natural expression of the area’