2012 Rioja and Some New Discoveries

After travelling from Jumilla to Bullas, up to Zaragoza and Cariñena, I finally made it to Rioja in one of the coldest and snowiest winters for a very long time. Chilly but one of the most beautiful landscapes...

Laguardia with the Cantabrian mountains covered in snow

A year of extremes: a very hot summer, no rain, and now late season snow. Will have to wait and see what sort of impact this cold wet winter has on the next vintage but in the meantime, we are all waiting to hear the classification of the 2012 vintage by the Consejo in Rioja. When I was out there, general opinion wavered between Very Good and Excellent. In any case, here is my take on it...

Tasting at Altos

My feeling is that 2012 is an outstanding vintage for younger styles of wines. Not that it won't also be very good for Reserva level wines, but I just feel that the younger joven and roble style wines are really going to shine this year. Loads of flashy bright fruit, elegance, balance. Perfect drinking over the coming year. Whites are amazingly concentrated as well but we'll have to move quickly to secure volume given the very short harvest!

I tasted through wines from all our key Rioja suppliers: Altos, Pagos de Tahola, Bujanda, Valpiedra, Primicia, Muriel, Izadi and Los Hermanos Manzanos, as well as squeezing in a visit to San Valero to look at our hero wine Bombero 2012. There are some great follow-on vintages as well as a few new wines we are working on launching over the coming year. I was also really impressed by the wines made by Burgo Viejo. This is a sort of mini private coop with a very innovative young Basque winemaker intent on making fruit-driven elegant wines. We currently take a couple of wines under the Palacio de Verano label and they sell really well. I think there is more of a story to tell here: fresh fruity wines more in the style of Beaujolais than Rioja and a great winemaker in Gorka Etxebarria.

As well as visits to our existing suppliers, I squeezed in a few new bodegas. You've already seen my notes on Gomez Cruzado, the tiny bodega with a long history in the heart of Rioja, Haro. But there are a few other really interesting projects we can work on.

I had been working with our supplier of successful wines such as Campeador and Ermita de San Lorenzo to develop a Rioja Rosado more in the style of a light fresh rose from Provence. We have finalised the project and you will see the direction of the brand/label above. But apart from the Rioja Rosado, I have since approved a lovely fresh juicy young Tempranillo which will go under the same label. This is in the best tradition of "joven" wines: could be served slightly chilled, perfect for both summer and winter, very commercial style of wine that our customers will love. And the good news...it's already won a medal: Silver in the China Wine and Spirits Competition.

Matsu DO Toro

So the next great discovery from this trip is thanks to the producer of this iconic wine from Toro. You may have seen this in Spain on holiday, or perhaps in Majestic here in the UK. It is remarkable for the label featuring a young man, middle-aged man, and old man for each of the three wines: joven, crianza and reserva. The team behind this wine is Vintae, a company set up by 28 year old Richie (Ricardo - he really is Spanish!) whose family has had vineyards in Rioja for generations. But the inspiration to start his own company came from his father who worked in construction. One of the buildings Richie's Dad owned is a carpark in Logroño. But not just any carpark. Down the back of the first level of parking underground is a small apartment, kitted out with bathroom, living space, kitchen and even a fire place. But the piece de resistance is the mini winery! Yes, his Dad actually made some wine in the basement of a carpark! One of the more bizarre places I've tasted wine. But the wine is great... they have been working on a Garnacha project in Rioja and have made some super complex wine at very competitive pricing. With the marketing expertise evident in the Toro wine above, the brand for Direct Wines will also be great...more to come...

And finally, I have to mention one of the highlights of the trip. A visit to Lopez de Heredia, makers of the iconic Riojan wine Tondonia. 136 years of history, everything still done to the original recipe (big wooden "tanks", own barrel makers, super long ageing). We just need to get our hands on some to sell to our more discerning customers!

Some famous names

 

No safety net to climb to the top of these tanks!

So after a few days in Rioja, headed off to Somontano. More to come soon...