Torres Alto Ibericos Rioja Crianza 2016

After 150 years & Spain’s most impressive portfolio of real estate in the country – you’d think the Torres Family might rest on their laurels – but they’ve been on an ambitious tear. We’ve been happy to play a small part in the past year – picking up most of the allocation that was destined for the very top restaurants up and down the east coast.

The family is constantly innovating. Fresh off last year’s Drink International’s “Most Admired Brand in Europe” recognition, they sent a boatload of their latest project, a 97-point recipient from Decanter, their Pazo de Bruxas Albarino across the pond. With few by-the-glass pours to be found, the Nicholas faithful gobbled it up. Those of you who locked into that wine have continued to tell me how much you liked it and understandably so. That wine is killer.

But there was another new project that got stopped dead in its track that was perhaps even more interesting. Having pretty much conquered Tempranillo throughout the rest of Spain, the Torres family set their sights on variety’s homeland – the heart of Rioja.

But tradition in Rioja runs back generations – too far back some might say. And while the terrain and weather is the one and only ideal spot for Tempranillo – the family did not want to follow arcane winemaking just for the sake of it.