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Honorable de Gómez Cruzado 2019

Honorable de Gómez Cruzado

2019
Honorable does its name justice
93
PARKER

£38.95

/ 0.75 L btl
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Spec sheet

TypeRed wine
Region
Grapes
Producer
AllergensContains sulfites
Alcohol contenti14.5%
Production18,600 bottles

The wine

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.

What does this wine taste like?

Appearing a colour of great depth, it is clean and bright, with spectacular tears. On the nose it is nice and refreshing; dark, serious, profound, elegant... intriguing! Enframed in the style of fine wines typical of this Rioja Alta region, it is fresh and easily drinkable, and stands out due to its fruitiness, its black fruit aromas (although red too), and its complexity and balance. The ageing notes are very well integrated and, with time in the glass, release whiffs of coffee that bring to mind those great Pauillac wines. Worth stressing, a very good wine.

On the palate it is juicy, intense, with a slightly earthy touch (somewhat dry at present for this same reason) which is quickly counterbalanced by sweetish undertones. The tannins are still present but they even out smoothly as it sits on the table and the minutes tick by; with a decanter and glass in our hands, we can harmoniously enjoy its great structure, its considerable volume and its splendid passage through the mouth. A really good wine, with excellent acidity, balsamic, a Rioja identity, a fine wine from the Barrio de la Estación... with character. You'll be surprised by it and you will certainly surprise others with it.

Drinking and storing

It does require some patience at the moment; 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.

Serve between 16ºC and 18ºC

Food pairing

Entrecôte / Barbecues / Lamb

Ratings and awards

201993 PK
201791 PK
201693 PK93 PN95 DC94 TA
201590-91 PK
201492 PK
201190 PK92 PN
PK: ParkerPN: PeñínDC: DecanterTA: Tim atkin

Wine critics reviewsReviews by Parker

The 2017 Honorable is a blend of 80% Tempranillo, 15% Graciano and 5% other grapes from four head-pruned old plots in the villages of Lanciego, San Vicente de la Sonsierra, Samaniego and Labastida. It's their most classical bottling, recovering a wine they produced since 1915. It's very ripe and shows aromas of crème de cassis and herbs, and it's a bit heady at 15% alcohol and with abundant, slightly dusty tannins after 18 months in barrels, mostly French and only 20% of them American. 2017 was a challenging vintage, and the wine shows it. 19,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in May 2021.

— Luis Gutiérrez (14/07/2022)Robert Parker Wine Advocate Vintage 2017 - 91 PARKER

Customer reviews

4.7/5
9 reviews
Vintage:

Winemaking

Ageing period18 months
Barrel ageNew
Type of woodFrench oak

Vineyards

SoilCalcareous-clay
OrientationSouth / Southeast