The Roamer's Dozen - Case One Clea Crianza

Dec 18, 2025
2 min read

Clea by Bardos Crianza 2022 14% ck

Tinta del Pais

Tinta del Pais is the local name for Tempranillo (a variety which has many different names depending on where it is grown in Spain). Tempranillo is grown all over Spain and in many other areas of the world and is without doubt Spain’s highest quality grapes variety. The skins are not usually very thick and the flavours are more on the red-fruit spectrum than the black fruits. As wine made with Tempranillo age they tend to release more savoury aromas of tobacco and spice and leather.

Ribera del Duero

The climate in Ribera del Duero is classed as continental which basically means extreme (I can vouch for this as I lived there for a year and it was horrid!). The summers are hot, hot, hot and the winters are freezing. This extreme climate is great for the vines through and the Tempranillo vine thrives here. The grapes have ticker skins to cope with the heat and the resulting wines are bigger, bolder and more alcoholic than their Riojan neighbours. The most famous wine here is Vega Sicilia which costs a small fortune and many of the wines made in the area have been made by people trying to emulate this wine and make big, monster fruit and vanilla bombs which should generally be avoided in my opinion. This wine however is a much more restrained style showing the juiciness of the fruits without overpowering the palate.

Elegance at high altitude

This wine has been made with restraint on behalf of the winemaker. The temptation in Ribera del Duero is to make the biggest, boldest wine you can but that is not the case here where we find a good amount of fruit but also a measure of elegance. The nose is very fresh which is as a result of the high altitude vineyards (up to 1000m altitude). The palate is also well balance with ripe, juicy fruit and a moderate oak influence. The wine was aged for 14 months in second hand French barrels. The lack of new oak means less oakyness in the wine and the choice of French oak over American leads to a wine with less vanilla and more of the spice of French wood.

Bean and Chorizo Stew

Consider decanting this one for 30–45 minutes to open up aromas and soften tannins. This lets the oak, tobacco, and dark fruit aromas shine. Food matching, consider a hearty meaty stew, like Oxtail Stew, that echos the deep savoury flavours, or a bean and chorizo stew. Deep rich flavours are the go to on this one.