Ramón Bilbao Mirto: A Rioja vertical
Simon Field MW tastes through six vintages of Mirto, a 100% Tempranillo Rioja, to see how the wine develops over time...
Ramón Bilbao has produced just 11 vintages of Mirto since its first release 20 years ago, in 1999, but it’s now, without doubt, one of the most important and influential wines in Rioja.
Eschewing the DOCa’s age categorisarion (Mirto technically could be labelled as a Gran Reserva), winemaker Rodolfo Bastida, for all the enlightening discussion of the minutiae of terroir, has decided – unlike fellow winemakers such as Juan-Carlos Lopez de Lacalle at Artadi – to stay within the DOCa system and to attempt to ‘reform’ it from within.
Named after the myrtle trees which apparently congregate wherever great Tempranillo is grown, Mirto constitutes an iconic celebration of that great variety. The fact that the name is very close to the word ‘mito’ (myth) is but a pleasing and most appropriate coincidence.
The 2014 vintage
2014 is the new release of Mirto. A warm spring was followed by a humid summer with more rain than in 2006. Harvest was brought forward, beginning on 6 October, and careful selection was required as ripening was not even. These difficulties necessitated 19 rather than the usual 24 months of oak ageing, to preserve the structure of the fruit.
Winemaking
The wine is nominally a selection of the best performing vineyards from seven crus in Rioja Alta. In point of fact, only two vineyards (Villalba and Abalos) have ever made the final cut, but it’s nonetheless interesting to equate the selection with the conditions of the year in question.
Be that as it may, 2001 and 2009 stand out for their particular brilliance from the six vintages of Mirto tasted. Fermented in small French oak vats then aged for up to two years in new French barriques of medium to medium-plus toast and bottled without fining or filtration.
Tasting Mirto:
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Bodegas Ramón Bilbao, Mirto, Rioja, Northern Spain, Spain, 2014
A rainy year with more precipitation than 2006, 2014 is definitely Atlantic in persuasion. The weather patterns necessitated relatively early picking, with the harvest finished...
2014
Bodegas Ramón BilbaoRioja
Bodegas Ramón Bilbao, Mirto, Rioja, Northern Spain, Spain, 2009
In a striking contrast to the conditions of 2006, 2009 was all about sunshine and ripe fruit, for which the wine certainly does not lack....
2009
Bodegas Ramón BilbaoRioja
Bodegas Ramón Bilbao, Mirto, Rioja, Northern Spain, Spain, 2006
Unlike 2001 and 2004, 2006 was a cooler harvest with intermittent rainfall until quite late in the growing cycle. The vintage has an Atlantic character...
2006
Bodegas Ramón BilbaoRioja
Bodegas Ramón Bilbao, Mirto, Rioja, Northern Spain, Spain, 2004
93
Another excellent year: an extended growing season with cool nights focussing flavour and fostering linearity on the palate. As with the 2001, the 2004 was sourced from fruit from the Abelos vineyard in the Alavesa. This example is a little less composed than the 2001, a little tighter and more chewy, its sheer weight of dark fruit and spice underwriting a more than promising future, however.
2004
Bodegas Ramón BilbaoRioja
Bodegas Ramón Bilbao, Mirto, Rioja, Northern Spain, Spain, 2001
2001 has been recognised as one of the great vintages of the century, so it's rather a good test to assess the ageability and inherent...
2001
Bodegas Ramón BilbaoRioja
Bodegas Ramón Bilbao, Mirto, Rioja, Northern Spain, Spain, 1999
Although Rodolfo has not yet withdrawn from the formal DOCa Classification, he does not cleave to the hierarchy formalised by the Crianza/Reserva/ Gran Reserva triptych,...
1999
Bodegas Ramón BilbaoRioja
