The Gómez Cruzado winery dates back to 1886 when Angel Gómez de Arteche started to produce and bottle his own wine in Haro, at the very heart of Rioja Alta. This was in the day when the wine trade between Rioja and France passed along the Tudela-Bilbao line, and the key Rioja wineries were located around the station of Haro. The winery sits just 100m from the station to this day. Subsequently bought by Angel and Jesus Gomez Cruzado in 1916, and more recently by the Baños family, David González (winemaker) and Juan Antonio Leza (viticulturalist) now head up the winemaking team. They have been working with Gomez Cruzado for over 10 years, crafting wines from vineyards of old bush vines in the most elevated areas of Rioja Alta and Alavesa. Vines grow in poor, white, chalky-clay soils, on sunny slopes at the highest part of the sierra (up to 750m altitude) - where the Mediterranean and Atlantic climates meet. The area produces wines with freshness and elegance.

Produced mainly from Tempranillo (60%), the grapes are sourced from old bush vines in Alto Najerilla, near to the Cárdenas river. This area, between Cordovín, Badarán and Cárdenas, is between 600 and 710 metres above sea level, and the soil is ferrous clay.

The grapes are hand-harvested into 200kg crates, and sorted by hand at the winery. After 4 days cold pre-fermentation maceration, with short pump-overs, the wine is fermented and then aged in 225 litre French oak barrels (2nd and 3rd year) for 24 months, followed by at least 12 months in bottle before release.

Will match hearty stews and richly-flavoured sausages.