Pago La Jaraba, Viña Jaraba Crianza

Pago de La Jaraba is a family owned winery built in the heart of La Mancha. While they can trace a history of notable regard for wines grown on the estate back to the mid-1700’s their current goal is to produce high-quality, exclusively estate-sourced, flag-waving examples of the new “modern-traditional balanced” wines coming out of Spain.

They follow traditional, sustainable methods and farm 80 hectares of vineyards. In addition they also grow cereal crops – wheat and barley as well as sunflowers, almond, pistachio and olive trees. Finally they raise their own flock of sheep on estate scrub/forest both to enhance and protect soil quality and for production of artisan Manchego cheese.

Winery: Pago de La Jaraba
Appellation: La Jaraba
Average age of vines: 18-21 years
Farming Methods: Conventional
Maturation: Varieties were aged, separately for 8 months in 80% American and 20% French and oak barrel, additional aging in tank and bottle
Soil: Sandy, clay, chalky, pebbles, limestone
Varietal: 80% Tempranillo, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Merlot
Vineyard Orientation: 700-750 meters
Vineyard Size: 80 hectares

Wine	Scores	Downloads	Reviews
Pago La Jaraba, Viña Jaraba Crianza 2017	91 Wine Review Online This is among the most complex wines I’ve tasted in this below-$15 price range I have tasted for quite some time, and though I really admire the 2019 Cosecha release from this producer, you’d be well advised to pay $2 more for this. (However, any particular retailer is likely to have only one or the other in inventory, so if you see either of them, just grab, pay and run, gratefully.) This shows just enough oak influence to provide some spice notes and firm up the finish with a little grip, yet the wine is definitely not overtly oaky (as the legal term “Crianza” might make you fear, based on the style of many inexpensive Rioja wines). The eight-month span in oak barrels actually seems to have had more influence due to oxygen interchange than outright wood flavoring, which suits me just fine. Though there’s less annoying oak in this than comparably-priced Rioja, that’s partly because the wine has more body and fruit, thanks to a warmer climate and 10% each of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Excellent period, and amazing for the price. Michael Franz – March 9, 2021	Bottle Image Label Image Shelf Talker Tech Sheet
Pago La Jaraba, Viña Jaraba Crianza 2018	90 View from the Cellar The 2018 Tinto “Crianza” from Viña Jaraba is made from the same combination of grapes as their regular bottling, with eighty percent Tempranillo and ten percent each of Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine is aged for eight months in cask, with eighty percent of the barrels made from American oak and the rest from French wood, and then given extended bottle aging in the cellar prior to release. The 2018 Crianza delivers a lovely nose, wafting from the glass in a mix of cassis, Cuban cigars, dark soil tones, a touch of Pomerol-like chocolate tones, woodsmoke and a deft framing of new oak. On the palate the wine is bright, full-bodied, focused and complex, with a good core, fine-grained, moderate tannins and very good length and grip on the poised and balanced finish. This comes in listed at the same 13.5 percent octane as the regular bottling from 2021, but has a bit more mid-palate stuffing than that wine. 2023-2035. John Gilman – Issue #103 January/February 2023.	Bottle Image Label Image Shelf Talker Tech Sheet