R. Lopez de Heredia Vina Tondonia ‘Vina Cubillo’ Crianza, Rioja DOCa 2007 750ML ($29.95) Buy Now: $24 special
Seek out some good, thinly sliced jamon and a chunk of queso manchego, and open a Cubillo: feel Spanish for the night. Or make a paella, or a tortilla, or grill a solomillo steak. Viña Cubillo pairs with whatever, and drinks like a reserva (which it qualifies as). Only classic Rioja comes from Lopez de Heredia, and here’s a fine daily drinker or an introduction to the winery. Heredia’s reds and whites represent some of Spain’s most graceful, since 1890. – Daniel
Wine Advocate 91+ points “The 2007 Viña Cubillo Crianza is the most affordable red. It is a wine that was born to go with tapas and to be sold at local restaurants showing a combination of fruit and the earth where the vines grow. It is a blend of the usual 70% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacho, 5% Graciano and 5% Mazuelo fermented in old oak vats with natural yeasts and matured in barrel for three years. The intoxicating nose shows blood orange, bitter cherries, leather and spices in a subtle and balanced way. The palate is sinewy, polished, has good acidity and is not terribly complex nor powerful, but is built more on the subtlety and lightness. This could well be the best Cubillo of recent times.”