Unlike many of the wines featured in PRIMA’s monthly wine club, the El Coto Rioja in this month’s installment is made by one of Spain’s largest concerns, farming over 1800 acres of vines throughout all three of La Rioja’s sub-zones, Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Oriental, and exporting their wines around the globe. Established in 1970, expanding and innovating over the years, El Coto specializes in traditional wines of the region, producing a broad range of Tempranillo-based reds, Crianza and Riserva, and a limited number of white wines from atypical grape varieties.

Located in Oyon, in the province of Alava, El Coto is in the northern reaches of the La Rioja appellation, close to the Basque Country of northern Spain. They enjoy a Mediterranean climate, with hot summers and mild winters, reasonable rainfall and protection from severe storms. The varied soils of the Rioja region are also ideal for viticulture; a mixture of limestone, clay, iron deposits and sand, depending on the location. Despite, or maybe because of, their vast resources, El Coto is able to practice sustainable viticulture in all of their high-density vineyard holdings, giving them the raw materials to produce authentic, high-quality wines.

The 2019 El Coto Crianza is a prime example of the pleasures of barrel-aged Tempranillo. The wine is expressive of bright red fruits, like cherry and raspberry, married with plenty of tantalizing flavors derived from aging in American oak; hints of vanilla, chocolate, cedar and nutmeg. “Crianza”, when speaking of wine, means that the wine is “aged” or “raised”, typically with some time in barrel. In the case of the El Coto Rioja Crianza, the wine is aged in oak barrels for 12 months and then another 6 months in bottle before release. It’s a very tasting drink, pairing beautifully with savory beef or pork preparations, game dishes, strong cheeses, tapas, charcuterie and more. At this incredible low re-order price, you can serve it day after day and find your very own perfect pairing.