Badiola is the creation of 2 Masters of Wine, Andreas Kubach and Sam Harrop along with txakoli producer Gorka Izagirre. Andreas and Sam along with Winemaker Tao Plantón craft modern Rioja wines with an emphasis on-site rather than how long it has aged in an oak barrel. The winemaking philosophy is to obtain very pure, fresh and well-textured wines that reflect their origin.
This 2018 L3Z4 is a balanced and smooth wine delivering rich aromas of dark cherries complemented by delicate hints of spice and herbal notes of thyme and rosemary.
Current Denominación de Origen regulations in Rioja only permit the use of a village name on the label by the location of the winery (i.e. the building, not the vineyards) thus the wine from the Leza vineyards is marketed as L3Z4.
The grapes come from carefully selected parcels in the village of Leza, close to the Sierra Cantabria and produce structured wines from old vines planted at 600 metres elevation. The mesoclimate here is cool and humid, which leads to later ripening than other areas in the region and the wines have dense, inky and muscular tannins with a dark fruit profile. The bush vines are planted in limestone soils and are cultivated with respect for the environment, using minimal sprays of copper and sulphur.
