Vinos En Voz ' Costumbres' Baja Rioja

Vinos En Voz 'Costumbres' Baja Rioja is a field blend of old-vine Garnacha with small amounts of Tinto Velasco and Tempranillo, all farmed organically on clay loam soils in the southern corner of Rioja Oriental. The whole clusters are foot-trodden and fermented in open-top French barrels without commercial yeast or temperature manipulation, then aged across a mix of glass demijohns, concrete, and neutral wood. This is Rioja stripped of convention—wines from the region's warmest, most marginal corner, handled with the interventionist restraint of natural winemaking. The producer behind Costumbres works with old parcels in Baja Rioja, the lower-elevation zone of Rioja Oriental historically overshadowed by the classicist heartland around Haro and Laguardia. The clay loam here yields riper fruit than the higher-altitude sites, but the farming is meticulous and the yields low. Fermentation in used barrels rather than stainless steel or new oak encourages native-yeast complexity without adding tannic weight, and the aging regimen—split between inert vessels and seasoned casks—preserves the fruit while allowing slow oxidative development. The foot-treading extracts color and structure gently, keeping the wine expressive rather than extracted. The wine shows red cherry, wild herbs, and a dusty minerality that reads more Mediterranean than Tempranillo-dominant Rioja. There's grip without heaviness, acidity that keeps the wine lively, and a finish that tastes like sun-warmed earth. Drink it slightly chilled with grilled lamb chops, roasted peppers, or a simple plate of jamón and Manchego. It's the kind of bottle that works as well at a backyard table as it does with a composed dinner. Vinos En Voz 'Costumbres' Baja Rioja is available now at Off Premise in Lincoln Park for pickup at 1128 W Armitage Ave, local Chicago delivery, or nationwide shipping.