Bodegas Navajas

Founded in 1918 and first brought to our attention by Hubrecht Duijker in the early 1980s - when he commented that the reds all had 'good deep colour, a beautiful vanilla perfume and a quite substantial taste with a gratifying measure of fruit, freshness, wood and tannin... this modest family concern has as yet done little exporting...' - Bodegas Navajas has come a long way since; built themselves a new winery - its cellars already extended to accommodate the ever amassing aromatic white Virginia oak barrels made by local family coopers Murúa - and a whole new office complex. The volume of production, though, remains more or less as ever; and Antonio continues to vinify approximately a million kilos - his wines now in a myriad of export markets including the UK (Harrods was his first customer!), Belgium, France, Holland, Luxembourg, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and more recently the US, Canada, and the Czech Republic ; though his offerings are rarely seen in Spain: an ardent Barça fan, this was Antonio's best domestic customer for some years though currently it is the Spanish Navy!

His whites include the Blanco Sin, a terrific example of an unoaked, simple, lemony, zesty, dry white Rioja, the Navajas Blanco Crianza is a delicious, clean, coconut laden, oaked Viura. The recently reintroduced Rosado Crianza is stunning and many an odd look has been given when the wine is discussed, but it has a magnificent freshness, with mouthfuls of fresh strawberry fruit and the wonderful oak giving a creamy spice and complexity.

Of course his reds continue to shine and the Tinto Sin is a classic. Blended from 85% Tempranillo, 10% Garnacha, and 5% Mazuelo (with a couple of barrels of Crianza thrown in for complexity), this is fantastically mouth-filling, with a pure violet scented fruit. Probably the most sought after wine is the Navajas Tinto Crianza. With lively aromas of plum and cherry it's silky, fruit laden and carries judicious oak from 15 months barrel ageing which gives a delightful, supportive vanilla overtone. This is a benchmark Crianza Rioja by any standard.

The Reserva is oak aged for 24 months and then undergoes a further maturation in bottle for 12 months. Although a great wine to drink on release, it has the capacity to age and develop very well for a number of years. These are now complemented by a deliciously delicate Gran Reserva 2001, which is drinking superbly.