Let's Rioja N' Roll by Neal Martin

Closing Date: 8/31/12 Issue 202 Let’s Rioja n’ RoLL By neaL MaRtin the independent Consumer’s Bimontly Guide to Fine Wine The police officer is apoplectic. Sixty seconds after departing from my north, the Sierra Cantábrica mountains rise majestically from the rolling land, very first visit, the eagle-eyed lawman pulled our vehicle over. God forbid, he protecting the region from Atlantic weather systems and deceptively giving spotted a passenger in the rear without a seatbelt, though his wrath suggests the impression that surrounding areas are low in altitude. In reality, the land we had just run over a member of the royal family. He demands identification rises and falls some 300 to 600 meters above sea level: vital to afford the cards, but in the United Kingdom, Her Majesty never introduced them. And best vineyards a long and relatively cool growing season. The Ebro snakes the policeman is furious because he has no way of knowing where I am from. through Rioja, overlooked by hilltop medieval villages such as San Vicente, I could have been born anywhere. Ollauri and Abalos, steeped in history and religion, a little too often spoiled by an eyesore built back in the day when planning permission was lax. The Introduction main town of Logroño throngs with locals and tourists alike, noisy tapas bars belying a country suffering economic strife. It only takes a few minutes to After my exploits in Catalonia, the next port of call was the most historically drive out and seek refuge in the tranquility of the countryside once more, significant Spanish wine region, Rioja. Its reputation and familiarity are larger where the air is so pure that patients recovering from respiratory illnesses than its geographical size thanks to the success and ubiquity of global brands still come to convalesce. guzzled to the point where I suspect that to many ordinary consumers, Rioja wine is more famous than Spanish wine. This eminence has placed it in a Of course, La Rioja is separated into three sub-regions: Rioja Alavesa, Rioja peculiar position. It can be self-confident and assured that brand recognition Alta and Rioja Baja. Alta is heavily influenced by the moderating Atlantic shifts a lot of wine from shelves: a Godsend in these straightened times. Yet climate, Alavesa similarly so but with greater Mediterranean influence, while history tells us that it can breed complacency. Its wines can suddenly become Baja is warmer and dictated by a Continental climate. An indication of the passé. Look at German wine in the 1980s or Australian in the 2000s. There Mediterranean boundary is the point where olive trees abruptly disappear is a constant need for a region to re-invent itself and stay ahead of the pack. from the side of the roads; however, one should remember that there exist For sure, Rioja reigns in Spain, however, there are numerous prince and numerous microclimates within both. The meandering Ebro divides Alavesa princesses with one eye on its crown, Ribera del Duero and Priorat to name to the north and Alta to the south (except around Labastida). In early May, but two, and countless further afield. the gnarled, leafless, ancient vines look like giant bristles sprouting from skin-colored soil that sinks underfoot. There are pockets of iron-rich and So beyond appraising its wines, I wanted to gauge how the industry is chalky clay, while the plains of Baja further south and southeast past Logroño adapting to the ever-changing climate of 2012, against the backdrop of are more fertile and alluvial, home to vast plantings of Garnacha. a country that boasts the most exciting cuisine in the world and a peerless football team, but also mass youth unemployment and withering domestic Altitude did seem to be an important factor here, at least to the top producers. consumption. Is Rioja’s recipe for success still relevant? Where does Speaking of winemakers, there seemed to be an unspoken competition to Rioja stand in the pantheon of Spanish D.O.’s? Can it cater to new styles or see who could cultivate their vines the highest up the mountainside! No doubt unorthodox techniques? some over-ambitious vigneron will soon be planting a Tempranillo vine on its snow-capped peak, but in reality, there are now vines planted up to around What I found was a dichotomous region of Davids and Goliaths, modernists 750-800 meters, a far cry from the days when producers sought the flat plains and traditionalists, a region located upon a fault line that separates Basque that were easy to run a tractor through. Nowadays, a 4x4 struggles to even and non-Basque country, Mediterranean and Atlantic climates and an reach the most isolated parcels. The elite Rioja winemakers are no longer undercurrent of polarized views. It was important to take the measure of both taking the easy option, for they are on a constant search for unexploited sides. I sought to meet and taste with winemakers that represent different propitious land. sides of Rioja because together, I feel that they have vital, symbiotic roles to play in the future of this great wine region. Vines are predominantly Tempranillo, the workhorse variety that can give rise to high volume supermarket fare or, in the right hands, iconic wines that The Land entertain profundity – and everything in between. The landscape is a mixture of trained and freestanding goblet vines, the former used by those who want Rioja is unequivocally a wine region that is easy on the eye. To the south, on to make efficient use of their land. There are several winemakers who see the distant horizon, lies the snow-capped Sierra de la Demanda and to the trained vines as an anathema to Rioja, none more so than Telmo Rodriguez Page 1 of 4 of Bodegas Remélluri. He believes that Rioja’s “soul” lies in those twisted sacrificed to uphold brand and the Reserva system. I will return to this subject later. ancient, low-yielding bush vines and I am inclined to agree. Bush vines tend to demand more attention for the vineyard manager or winemaker and Given the omnipresence of the Reserva system and the potential weak nesses that can only be a positive thing. As I have written before, in the same way I have described, this counterculture manifested itself in a movement towards that Cabernet is enhanced by Merlot, I tend to err towards wines where what has been tagged “modern” Rioja. Both Marqués de Caceres and Tempranillo has its wingmen by its side: Graciano lending aromatic flair, Contino began experimenting with French oak and site-specific bottlings Garnacha lending flesh and Mazuela (a.k.a. Carignan/Cariñena) imparting in the 1970s. The so-called alta expresíon wines came to prominence, acidity to weave the components together. accentuating new oak and high-toned primal black fruit. The dogma was: the more ripeness, the better. Fortunately, it can be said that most producers A Historical Background have seen the error of their ways and retreated from such extremities. Although viticulture can be traced back to Roman times, the region was Growing Seasons known for its bucolic wines, often made through carbonic maceration: simple, easy-drinking, rustic fare for local consumption. The pivotal moment came This report focuses upon the 2009 and 2010 vintages, though I always think when the phylloxera louse devastated Bordeaux, prompting merchants to it is useful to include tasting notes from older vintages whenever they were supplement their trade by seeking fruit from elsewhere. Rioja lay close by poured, and on occasion, include complete verticals in order to give recent and the absence of a structured industry enabled both sides to benefit, in notes greater context (for example, Pujanza and Finca Allende). particular the entrepreneurial marquises. Marqués de Murrieta and Marqués de Riscal modeled their estates on the expansive vineyards of Bordeaux that With regard to the 2009 growing season, the year began with high rainfall offered economies of scale and the chance to establish a recognizable brand. levels that provided vines with a good reserve of moisture. Budding was These were followed by the likes of Berberana, Martinéz Lacuesta and relatively early and then a dry July and August with high temperatures (up to Paternina inter alia that all exist today. The inevitable influx of Bordeaux 37 degrees Centigrade) meant that the vines could call upon those reserves varieties never usurped “King Tempranillo,” but their aging techniques and to prevent them from shutting down. Still, such heat creates a dissonance the use of barriques were widely adopted. Phylloxera arrived in Rioja at the between ripeness and phenolic ripeness; it catches out those growers turn of the century, and many small wineries that had bottled their own wine unprepared to risk waiting for the latter. Mid-September rains affected sought refuge with co-operatives that neutralized risk by purchasing their crop. Alavesa more than Alta and Baja sub-regions, but nudged many of the vines towards full ripeness, and from the end of September through the end of The region was governed by the Consejo Regulador that was established in October, the harvest progressed under dry, sunny conditions. 1926 and they installed the familiar classification system based upon aging criteria in both cask and bottle: Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva. The As for 2010 , this looks to be a very promising vintage. Clement weather predicate was that the best wines had traditionally undergone the lengthiest during the flowering period offered the prospect of a more abundant crop, maturation prior to release and bottles would carry a seal as long as the wine but the summer was cooler and mitigated against yields.

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