Resident Wine Expert
vintage to another, the best Bodegas are increasingly producing wines that reflect terroir and vintage variations, rather than obscuring them, wines that perhaps favour a Burgundian rather than Bordeaux approach and by that I mean that they express a sense of place rather than a typical regional style. Climate, as usual, is important and with regards to Rioja there are two major factors: the Atlantic weather from the North, softened by the Sierra de Cantabria Mountains, and on the other side of the coin, warmer drier Mediterranean weather from the South East. This tends to divide Rioja vintages into ‘cooler’ Atlantic years such as 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010 and ‘warmer’, riper Mediterranean ones 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2011.
It’s important to remember that vineyard-focused wines are a comparatively new concept in Rioja. For a long time the region has used a negociant-based model, blending across sub-regions. The first two modern Estates that sourced fruit from their own vineyards entirely, were Remelluri (first released in 1971) and Contino – love these wines! – (first released in 1973). Others soon followed suit, either by planting their own vineyards or buying grapes from growers in the best areas, in particular the clay/limestone soils of the Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Alta towns of Haro, Villalba, Briones and San Vicente de la Sonsierra – the zone that Jesus Madrazo of Contino calls Rioja’s Cote d’Or of Burgundy fame. Most of the terroir-driven producers buy grapes from the top growers. There are some true ‘Estates’, but it’s fair to say that these are few and far between and quite a rare beast. Rioja is not unlike Champagne, in that the wineries rarely grow all of their own grapes. Parcels tend to be small with few larger than 30 hectares. As usual with wines made in this way, it is hard to generalise and it is best to use a broad brush when comparing, as they are by definition a reflection of differences in altitude, soil type, aspect and vine age, in addition to good old human intervention. They are individual rather than formulaic. It is also true that perhaps with the exception of Exopto – a winery that uses grapes from a single grower in each of Rioja’s three sub-regions – it would be difficult to name a single top or ‘icon’ wine from Rioja that follows the traditional pan-Riojan recipe. Food (and wine for thought…)
And just to help when reading the label… Unoaked Joven: ‘young’ and always included under Sin Crianza.
Sin Crianza: Crianza: Reserva:
Gran Reserva: less than 12 months in oak.
at least 12 months in oak and one in bottle. at least 12 months in oak and 24 in bottle. at least two years in oak and three in bottle.
To finish, I thought I would give a shout out to the ‘Ice Bucket Challenge’ doing the rounds on social media. There are two that, for me, have been outstanding and one of those was my daughter Rosa’s and her friend Helen’s. Sitting waiting for Rosa’s dad to tip a full JCB metal bucket of ice and water over them, the result worthy of comparison to Noah’s flood!, or at the very least the source of the Nile. The second featured my friend Sally sitting waiting for her mum (the incomparable Jane) to pour her bucket – timing, as always is crucial in such matters – and Jane, completely disregarding this detail, proceeded to dump the bucket unceremoniously over Sally’s head at the beginning of her noble speech, drop the empty bucket and walk away, Sally’s only consolation being that the excess ice fell into her vodka and tonic – conveniently at hand – comedy gold!
Sally, very kindly, nominated me to carry out my own Ice Bucket Challenge – and whilst I would prefer that to entail a full, unopened bottle of Champagne nesting in ice waiting for me to drink it, I fear the reality will be a much wetter and colder affair!
Win Win Win
For your chance to win a mixed case of wine simply answer the following question:
Q. How many years does a Gran Reserva Rioja spend in bottle?
Answer and full contact details on a postcard to: Live 24-Seven, PO Box 5258, Coventry, CV4 OGA or email your answer and full contact details to
info@live24-seven.com Closing date is 31st October 2014, there is no cash or prize alternative, the MD’s decision is final and employees of Live 24-Seven are not permitted to enter.
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