Un Gabachito - Olivier Rivière

5/12/12 -

Gabacho – Used in Spain as a pejorative term to describe a Frenchman.  In this case a winemaker from France who crosses the border to conduct his craft in Spain.

We love the much-lauded, traditional wines of this area, but with a region as vast and as diverse as Rioja, it seems unfair to pin “greatness” on just a few lapels.  At times, Rioja can seem frustratingly entrenched, with traditionalism perhaps encumbering creativity. The truth is that one finds many of the same “great” wines of Rioja - highly praised in New York – sold at the Duty Free in the Madrid airport.  That is why it’s especially appropriate to have a breath of fresh air. Over the past year especially, we’ve stumbled upon greatness in the most unlikely corners of Rioja. 

Today we focus on one wine that we feel exemplifies the emerging rebellious spirit of Rioja’s next wave – the 2010 Gabacho from Olivier Rivière. Two years ago we flipped for the 2008 vintage of the sarcastically named Gabacho.  When we heard there was a 2010 landing state-side (Gabacho is only made in cool vintages like 2008 and 2010), we could barely contain our excitement and reserved a modest amount of the wine.  

Olivier Rivière cut his teeth making wine in Burgundy at Domaine Leroy, where he learned biodynamics, then at Domaine de Chasserney, where he learned to make wine without sulfur under the great Fred Cossard.  In 2004, Olivier took a job in Rioja overseeing vinifications at Compania Telmo Rodriguez, an operation that takes Spanish terruño as seriously as anybody.  In 2006, Rivière produced his first wine, sourcing organic fruit from high elevation vineyards.  Inspired by his favorite wines produced by the likes of Jean Foillard and Domaine de Chassorney, Olivier looks for high-elevation, organically farmed sites where cool nights provide the key to producing fresh and balanced Riojas.  In the 2010 Gabacho, we have a beautiful culmination of Olivier’s experience as a winemaker in both France and Spain. A blend of equal parts Tempranillo, Graciano, and Mazuelo, this is as fresh, balanced, and as terroir expressive a wine as we’ve found in Spain.