“An attractive wine, for anyone, for any occasion.” Bodegas Olabarri’s own description of this wine neatly sums up its easy and delicious character. This is the sort of wine that knows it’s not the main character. The Olabarri Crianza is intended to accompany a good meal or a good conversation, but not to intrude on either. This principle has been at the heart of Olabarri since 1985, when Pablo Olabarri Bikandi founded the winery to make elegant, accessible wines without pretense. While Olabarri’s Reserva and Gran Reserva Riojas certainly qualify as incredible value, the Crianza is closest to the winery’s mission. The grapes are drawn from vineyards next to the winery on the outskirts of Haro, and the wine spends a year in barrel and a year in bottle before release. Aromas of cinnamon, plum and blackberry with a touch of tobacco and vanilla. Fresh acidity and silky tannins frame a palate with strong oak influences – both cinnamon from the French Oak and vanilla from the American – with spicy black cherry, leather, and pipe smoke that lingers through the finish. The wine has enough structure to last several years in the cellar, but at heart it’s a wine to enjoy while you wait for the more serious wines to mature.