First taste: New vintages of Cirsion and Roda

Bodegas Roda has been one of the pioneers of new-wave Rioja since the company was established in 1987, its hallmarks are a laser focus on expressing the character of vineyard and vintage, as well as a restrained approach to winemaking.

Founded by wine merchants Mario Rotllant and Carmen Daurella – each contributing the first two letters of their surnames to create the Roda name – the winery made its first vintage in 1992, and launched its inaugural wines four years later.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for seven new vintages of Cirsion and Roda

A key moment in Roda’s development came when Agustín Santolaya and Isidro Palacios were brought on board as consultants. ‘The first thing that they said to the family was that the 40ha of vineyards that they had put together were no good – they had to get rid of them,’ says Victor Charcán, Roda’s global sales director.

Instead, the company started acquiring small plots of vineyards with a precise brief linked to the traditions of Rioja: sandstone soils, bush vines, dry farming. ‘What we want to capture in a bottle is landscape, typicity, sense of origin, terroir if you like, and vintage,’ says Charcán. ‘That’s our notion, that’s how we interpret Rioja.’