Review: Wines of Bodega Lanzaga, 2025 Releases

Bodega Lanzaga is a decidedly modern Rioja producer, with the goal of “reviving Rioja’s historic identity” by focusing on native grapes and site-specific expressions. The winery notably does not follow the typical labeling system in Rioja (crianza, reserva, etc.) and instead focuses on vineyards and terroir when labeling its wines.

Today we’re looking at three of Lanzaga’s “village” expressions, which are all field blends of Tempranillo, Garnacha, and Graciano from multiple estate vineyards held by the operation. Let’s dive in.

2020 Bodega Lanzaga “Lanzaga” – (Not a typo. The name of the wine is Lanzaga.) A flagship field blend from 35 organic, bush-trained plots in Lanciego. This is a surprisingly dense wine, with immediate elements of anise and dark chocolate taking hold of the tannin-heavy body. Underripe (or anti-ripe?) perhaps to a fault, there’s no fruit left in the wine, replaced with notes of charred red peppers, black pepper, anise, and tarry ash. Gently smoky on the finish, it feels like it’s never far from a layer of charred oak. All told: A bit much. Drink immediately. B / $50

2022 Bodega Lanzaga LZ “Little Lanzaga” – Rioja  An unoaked, concrete-aged wine “meant to echo the wines grape growers themselves drank in the 1920s.” While intended to be bright and fruity, the wine is actually rather dense and tannic at first — very, very tight — and it needs time to settle down in glass before it reveals more of its charms. Jellied raspberry and dried cherry elements combine with notes of tea leaf and punchy gunpowder to create a swirl of flavor as the wine develops, finishing with hints of dark chocolate, countered by vanilla. Eventually that brightness reveals itself, but it takes a long time to get there. B+ / $35

2021 Bodega Lanzaga “Corriente” Bueno de Diaro – Corriente mans “common” in Spanish, but this “everyday” bottling acquits itself with quite a bit of elegance. Lush plum and currant notes are effusive up front, laced with notes of maraschino cherry, gentle vanilla, and a dusting of chocolate. Uncomplex but lively and vibrant, the more effusive sweetness is countered by some gentle, tempering acidity and a lingering but quiet herbaceousness. It may be the least expensive wine in the lineup, but it was easily my favorite — and the most versatile in the bunch. A- / $22

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