Honorable de Gómez Cruzado 2017

Gómez Cruzado was one of the first wineries to become established in Haro's emblematic Barrio de la Estación and tasting its legendary brand, Honorable, inspires a certain respect, as well as making us feel very honoured. It is also the smallest winery in this district so significant in European wine history, yet it is from this humility and considerable hard work that it successfully offers us a lovely collection of fresh and fruit-forward, subtle wines, with great balance and complexity, where every detail is important, from the soil and the grapes, to the bottle, the label... and the name: Honorable, such an appropriate name. Honorable does its name justice. It's not the typical classic but neither is it a modern-style wine, despite being matured in new French oak barrels. It is only produced when the old vineyards have their best harvests and with the traditional Rioja mix: Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano, Mazuelo and Viura. It is a very good wine indeed, but it does require some patience at the moment, being still young; decant it for an hour or two, and it will offer you up all its charms. Or else keep it, if you prefer, as its excellent acidity will ensure a long life. NOTE: Gómez Cruzado is a little-known winery due to its size, but since the new owners entrusted direction to David González and Juan Antonio Leza, two young winemakers with lengthy experience as consultants in wine-growing projects, its wines have been truly outstanding. The new team is doing an excellent job and Honorable is one of the wines which best proves this. As a good friend told us, this winery is a little hidden gem, and worth watching closely.