For many people, a bottle of Lan might be their first bottle of Rioja or even Spanish wine for that matter. This winery has done a tremendous job in getting solid distribution in a great many countries, especially the US. I remember that the distinctive labels with their three letter name were always on offer at Trader Joe’s and at pretty appealing prices.
Of course, these lower-priced wines are what has become rather typical for much of the production of Rioja. They’re an attractive cost but blended quite heavily with next to no soul. If you want “Spanish red wine”, they don’t let you down, but at the same time, they hardly excite.
This batch of wine samples that Lan sent me represent something entirely different. With the exception of the Crianza, these are their single vineyard wines and they show what might actually be possible in Rioja were it change course a great deal. They also have a new labels so you might not be familiar with this look if you knew the wines from before.
I’m still of the opinion that Tempranillo needs a lot of work in the cellar to be an interesting grape but the last one in this series, A Mano is a damned fine wine that, taking the quality level in to account offers a great value as well.
I don’t know how many of these wines are reaching the US, UK, or other markets, but if you come across them, they’re definitely worth your time and even more so, your money.
