Rioja Hangover...
5/17/11 -
(Vineyards in Rioja Alavesa)
Rioja came to town last week. There is a lot to talk about in the region right now, as well as a lot to be really excited about. At times it has seemed easy to write off Spain’s most important wine region as stale, entrenched, and drowning in vanilla big business antics, not to mention poor viticulture and shoddy cellar techniques. I hear you. But things are getting better, especially since the 2001’s have arrived. There is a lot of hype around this vintage, and I believe it’s warranted. Both Hermanos de Pecina's Reserva and R. Lopez de Heredia's Vina Tondonia wines are glorious. Pecina’s ’01 is all about strawberry/mushroom induced warmth and voluptuousness, and Tondonia’s ’01 is, as usual, nervy and tobacco-tinged with plump dark fruits adding weight, structure, and age-ability. Could this be a “greatest vintage of a lifetime” scenario? La Rioja Alta seems to think so.This is only the third time in the winery’s history that a vintage of Vina Ardanza has been designated “Reserva Especial” (the others were 1964 and 1973). With ten years of age, this wine is full-bodied, still young, and downright lovely, with fresh and fleshy strawberry fruit, savory umami character, and balanced, supple tannins. We have magnums.
There are also exciting developments at two historic Bodegas: La Granja Nuestra de Senora Remelluri and Bodegas Muga. These are by far two of the most important Bodegas in the region for their dynamic, quality-oriented approaches in the vineyard and in the cellar. Back at Remelluri, his family’s estate, Telmo Rodriguez’s aim is to become certified organic; he believes they are just a year or two away. He once proclaimed to me: “never a pesticide, never an herbicide, and never an added yeast.” We concur. Remelluri is a single vineyard “pago” (monopole) in Rioja Alavesa. Nestled against the Sierra de Tolono mountains, it is a fairly large site of Bodeaux-like proportions that has a very cool micro-climate and sits between 2,000 and 2,500 feet above sea level. Its history of wine-growing dates back to the 1400s. The soils are limestone, chalk, and clay. This vineyard yields wines that are dark fruited with herbs, pepper, and tobacco notes, mouthwatering acidity, and a deep, earthen intensity. The wines are far from “Parkerized”, as they have been mischaracterized in the past.
In Rioja Alta, Bodegas Muga is always a great bodega, producing a wide range of age-worthy Rioja wines. In their current incarnation, they are led by the son of the estate, Jorge Muga, a trained agricultural engineer, whose inspirations come from Claude Bourgignon. Jorge has steered the focus of the bodega towards healthy soils and the development of microbial life; no pesticdes or herbicides are used on estate vineyards. Instead, cover crops and organic fertilizers are employed. In the winery, Bodegas Muga cooper their own barrels; fermentations are done with ambient yeasts in large barrels, without the added help of temperature control. West of Haro, the great vineyard that gives us Prado Enea wraps around the town of Sajazarra. It is Muga’s coolest estate vineyard located at 2,000 feet above sea level. Harvest is done a full two weeks later than their other sights. The soil here has a higher clay content and yields wines with enormous aging potential with aromas resonant of red fruits, iron, and herbs; there are among the most magnificent traditional Rioja wines.
After having had the opportunity to taste and drink great wines from these leading Bodegas in multiple contexts, my hangover is finally subsiding. Rioja's future is in good hands, and I am left with the conviction that the combination of smart work in the vines and a strong ethos in the cellar results in age-worthy Riojas that can be nothing short of vivid and inspiring… -cb
