2019 Vina Herminia Rioja Tempranillo

If you drink sherry, you know Lustau. The Caballero family has owned that house since 1990, and they own this Rioja estate too. That was the first reason I paid attention to Vina Herminia.

The story starts with a marriage. In 1949, Joaquin L. Artacho named one of his vineyards for his wife, Herminia Casas, so her name would outlast them both. It did. More than seventy years later, it is still on the label.

For the company’s 50th anniversary in 1999, the family built a new winery in Aldeanueva de Ebro. That puts it in Rioja Oriental, the warmest corner of the region, between the Ebro River and the Sierra de Yerga mountains.

Warm does not mean flat here. The vines climb Monte Yerga and Monte Argudo to 700 meters, about 2,300 feet. The days are long and sunny, and the nights turn cold. That swing keeps the fruit fresh in a part of Rioja known for ripeness.

The cellar gets the same attention. In 2006 the estate hired Antonio Palacios as winemaker. He is the older brother of Alvaro Palacios of Priorat fame, and the Palacios family’s own bodega sits in this same corner of Rioja. Today Herminia makes everything from Crianza and Reserva to single-variety Garnacha and Graciano.

This bottling is all Tempranillo. It is not a Reserva built for the cellar. It is the Rioja you open on a Wednesday with roast chicken or a pan of chorizo and potatoes. It pours bright cherry red, with mixed berry fruit, a little vanilla and soft tannins.

The 2019 is drinking now. I would not hold it. Buy enough for the month.