A fantastic Rioja with a touch of bling about it. Roberto Rodriguez calls this a ‘super-Crianza’, because he shepherds it from vineyard to bottle as if it were a Reserva, hand-picking the most flavour-intensive berries from high altitude vineyards, lavishing upon them the finest, new French oak barrels that money can buy and treating the wine to a long élevage.

Tasting Notes 

Colour

Intense deep red colour with purple hues

Nose

Intense aromas, coffee, leather and spice and a firm concentration of black fruit sit alongside hints of ripe red fruit and sweet spiced sensations over a background of vanilla and eucalyptus.

Palate

A flavoursome wine - fruit forward with sweet tannins and a lovely long finish.  An energetic wine brimming with personality, it fills the mouth with fruity flavours, wrapped in silky tannins to give a delicate, elegant, and mouth-watering wine. Persistent, with a long, wide and balanced finish.

Producer

Palacio is known as a pioneer winery for introducing the bases of modern wine to the D.O.Ca. Rioja. It is run by Cosme Palacio Bermejillo, an entrepreneur who took over the family winery in 1894 to make it the most advanced in Rioja Alavesa. He is still working today with his philosophy that tradition and modernity go hand in hand.

The Cosme Palacio Crianza grapes come from old vines of over 40 years old that are planted in clay-calcareous soils at an altitude of over 600 metres above sea level. The grapes are manually collected in 15 kg boxes and the fruit is selected in the vineyard.

Once the Cosme Palacio Crianza grapes reach the winery, they are destemmed but not crushed, and then undergo a long maceration. It then ferments in stainless steel tanks with automatic temperature control, pump overs and micro-oxygenation. Malolactic fermentation takes place in French oak barrels. Aging happens over 12 months in new 225-litre French oak barrels. The wine is then refined in the bottle for a minimum of 12 months before it is launched on the market.

Cosme Palacio Crianza is a red wine from the highest altitude vineyards in the winery. This is reflected in the wine’s good concentration and acidity.

Critical Acclaim

Tim Atkin MW: “Made and marketed as a kind of super Crianza, Roberto Rodríguez's pure Tempranillo all comes from Sonsierra vineyards over 600 metres. Dense, perfumed and textured, with lovely violet scents, fine-grained tannins, subtle wood and the freshness of its high-altitude sources. 14% alc. 2022-2029.” 93 points

• Bronze Medal 2021 IWC

Specifications