Ramón Bilbao Mirto: A Rioja vertical

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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