Twelve top Rioja wines from Haro Station District – masterclass

Jane Anson speaks exclusively to the six winemakers who led the masterclass ‘A 50 year journey through the historic Haro Station District’ at the Shanghai Fine Wine Encounter and tastes through their wines ranging from 1964 to 2014.

Scroll down for Jane Anson’s tasting notes and scores from the masterclass

Five questions with:

Juan Antonio Leza – Winemaker and general manager of Bodegas Gómez Cruzado (Spanish)

María Urrutia – Marketing director – 5th generation CVNE

Mayte Calvo – Technical director of Bodegas Bilbaína (Vina Pomal)

Agustín Santolaya – General Manager of Bodegas RODA (Spanish)

Eduardo Muga – Co-Owner Bodegas Muga

Guillermo de Aranzabal – Chairman of Grupo La Rioja Alta, S.A.

Jane Anson: What is the best tapas?All: Iberico chorizo is the emblematic food of Rioja. Ideally served on its own, simply sliced.

JA: What are the essential thing about the Haro Station District wines?All: We are all located around the historic centre of Haro, within walking distance of the station that was used for many years to transport Rioja wine out to the world. We have some of the oldest wineries in the region, most still family run, with traditional ways of working.

JA: Where is your favourite place to relax?

All: The Ermita de San Felices near Haro is a tiny church on top of a hill on the extreme west of the valley. You can climb up to the church and get breathtaking views over the surrounding vineyards. It must be one of the most beautiful spots in all of Spain.

JA: What are you reading?

All: Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, Jared Diamond, professor of geography and physiology at UCLA. It won the Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction in 1998, and its title refers to the factors that have time and again shaped the modern world.

JA: What is the biggest challenge facing you right now?

Juan Gomez Cruzado: Rioja is now allowing the name of specific villages on wine labels, which we are supporting of. But we are being told that as a result we are now unable to use the name Haro on our labels, because our vineyards are not all located in the town. We have used this name of our labels for over 150 years, and it is an essential part of our identity.

See Jane Anson’s tasting notes from the masterclass

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