Cerro Annon Rioja Reserva 2020

This comes from Bodegas Olarra, often called the “Cathedral of Rioja” due to its stunning Y-shaped, modernist architecture featuring over 100 hexagonal domes. Founded in 1973 in Logroño, they’ve been a mainstay in Rioja Alta for nearly half a century. That’s due in large part to the legendary winemaker Ezequiel García, known as “El Brujo” (the sorcerer), who spent over 20 years making wine at this institution before his recent untimely passing.

The 2020 Bodegas Olarra Cerro Añón Reserva consists of 85% Tempranillo with 15% Mazuelo and Graciano, spending 20 patient months in 225-liter barriques of 65% American and 35% French oak, followed by another 18 months in bottle. Decanter praised it as “thriving with fragrant blossom, rosehip and fresh cranberries and a sultry seam of cigar box oak, furnished with a broad structure and opulent tannins.”