Jade Gross, Harrobia, Rioja DOCa 2022 - 75cl

Jade Gross took an unusual road into wine — a Chinese-American chef who cooked at Mugaritz before setting up her own tiny project in Rioja in 2019, under the wing of the great Abel Mendoza. Harrobia is 100% Tempranillo from La Cantera, a single bush-vine parcel in Labastida up in Rioja Alavesa, planted on clay and limestone at 600 metres and now well into its thirties.

This is Rioja made the new way — no American-oak vanilla, no heavy extraction. The fruit is destemmed and fermented in open stainless steel, then aged around a year in used French barrels, with barely 1,800 bottles made. It sits proudly within Rioja DOCa, but it belongs to the region's restless younger generation rather than its old guard.

2022 was hot and drought-marked, and you feel it in the ripeness — the wine comes in at 14.5% — but Gross builds for energy and precision rather than sheer power. Expect a bright, vibrant Tempranillo with real drive and concentration, primary and fresh in its youth. Give it air and it opens up considerably.

A wine for people who think they know Rioja and are ready to be surprised by it.

How to Serve

Serve at 16-18°C. A 30-45 minute decant helps this young, ripe red stretch out. An all-purpose red glass is fine. Drinking now, with a few years to unfold.

Where to Drink It

Barrafina, for Spanish plates and a wine list that thinks. Planque in Haggerston, among the low-intervention set. Dandy in Newington Green, for its curious cellar.

Food Pairings

Grilled lamb cutlets with a little pimentón, or a plate of jamón and aged sheep's cheese to lean into its roots.