What’s hot in Rioja

Surely the most dramatic way to enter Rioja is by road. Travelling from the direction of Bilbao, you rise up to the Sierra de Cantabria, which peaks at 1,221m. Coming down, the view towards the Ebro river is sensational. Great wines await… and fine foods too. The mouth waters as much as the eye is charmed.

Unlike so many wine regions, the landscape is not machine-made. Masses of small vineyards intersect with larger ones, a blend of bush vines and canopies. It is a mix of altitudes and aspects, with the mighty Ebro running through.

In fact, the river is not as mighty here as it will become by the time it decants into the Mediterranean. The only one of Spain’s great rivers to flow east (the rest flow west into the Atlantic), it receives tributaries running down from the two sierras that enclose Rioja.

Rioja was the first DOC in Spain and the first DOCa (Denominación de Origen Calificada). According to official sources, it’s also the denomination with the most hectares of ‘old and centenary’ vineyards. The region’s success at wine marketing has given the world (or most of it) a certain image of Rioja. The problem is that this established image is rather one-dimensional. As with Champagne or Burgundy, the word ‘Rioja’ encapsulates a mosaic of wines and styles, tradition and innovation.

Now, at the start of the third decade of the 21st century, Rioja is, more than ever, proving itself as a place to explore.

Across the latter half of the 20th century, this region (like the rest of Spain) developed wines that were clean and consistent but not especially individual. Rioja producers also sold far too many wines at bargain-basement prices – and they still do. Yet change is in the air.

The transformation isn’t easy: there have been bitter arguments. But the bonus is that consumers can benefit from this diversity and debate. The choice is wider as the wines become a more subtle expression of the different faces of Rioja. As our features and panel tastings in the following pages show, there are now so many ways into the enjoyment of this apparently ‘one-dimensional’ wine region. Take another look at Rioja – it is moving on…

Rioja: just red wine?

Although other significant regions of Spain might argue the point, Rioja is the country’s preeminent red wine producer, with 90% of its vineyard planted to red grapes. Yet, contrary to the wine textbooks you may have read, those vineyards are not just a monoculture of Tempranillo. While Tempranillo does currently account for 87% of red plantings, other red varieties are now starting to get more attention. Looking back to pre-phylloxera vineyards, with their field blends of red and white grapes, is also a trend in Rioja, as elsewhere in Spain.

Graciano, with wines from Contino and Ijalba, has been holding its own as a single variety, while Garnacha is the variety currently coming through. Historically, Rioja Oriental was – and remains – a source of Garnacha for some of the great Rioja Alta blends. Today, though, Garnacha is the hero in Rioja Oriental, revived and made as a single variety by producers such as Alvaro Palacios and Ramón Bilbao.

Juan Carlos Sancha has also been important in the revival of Rioja’s historic grape varieties, especially in the recuperation of Maturana Tinta. It may only account for 0.38% of red plantings (in 2020), but what is being made so far shows real promise.

Similarly, plantings of Mazuelo hover at about 2%. Known as Cariñena in Priorat – where centenarian vines are proving themselves sensational – this grape is mostly used as a ‘seasoning’ variety in Rioja, adding structure to blends. But Mazuelo is now stepping into the spotlight. Marqués de Murrieta’s Primer Rosé received considerable attention on its launch, with the 2015 vintage, because it was 100% Mazuelo. It is also an example of the new breed of top-quality rosados that are diverging from the image of ‘red Rioja’.

When it comes to whites, there is plenty of excitement, too. White wines may account for less than 10% of total production in Rioja, but there’s plenty of individual expression within that band. Viticulture and Viura (the dominant white variety) have gone hand in hand to develop fresher, structured wines. The relatively recent discovery of a bunch of white grapes on a (red) Tempranillo plant made a dynamic difference with the launch of this new variety, Tempranillo Blanco. No need to educate consumers when the name was already known.

Take a tasting tour through the wines of Abel Mendoza to get a flavour of individual local white varieties: Garnacha Blanca, Viura, Malvasía, Tempranillo Blanco and Turruntés. For Maturana Blanca (as for Maturana Tinta), the Juan Carlos Sancha bodega is the place to begin. It’s true that the Consejo Regulador DOCa Rioja also granted permission for Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Verdejo – two being international grapes, one local to Rueda, and none of them essential for Rioja – but no one gets it right first time.

As a result of recent regulations, Rioja also now has its own traditional-method sparkling wine category. Sparkling wine is a very old tradition in Rioja – it was delightfully known as Agua de Bilbao (‘Bilbao water’). When the Cava DO itself was created, Rioja was one of the non-Catalan regions permitted. So, Rioja’s new legislation gives producers the choice: for their wines to remain in Cava, or to use the Rioja label.

Finally, let’s not forget sweet wine. It’s called supurao. There’s not much of it about, but do seek it out.

To blend or not?

Rioja’s historic great wines are blends. It was the traditional solution to the vagaries of the climate, but beyond that it’s also something that gives each individual producer typicity. Being able to blend suggests a capacity to own land or an ability to purchase grapes, which is at odds with the work of the small producers who are creating, effectively, an estate wine out of their own grapes from a single place.

Today’s wine drinkers are more absorbed in the pure expression of a place, as well as wanting to know about the people who make wine there. Some blends do manage to argue their way into trendy wine bars, but they need cult status (such as López de Heredia). Sommeliers and consumers are looking for the story of the grower and the individual winemaker to make that attachment to the wine in our glass. Company men and marketing speak are not in vogue. Yet Rioja needs to contain both these opposing world views.

Then there is the trend for single-varietal wines. These originated in the 1990s as ‘vinos de autor’. Typically laden with new French oak, and using a single variety (Tempranillo), they turned their back on the soft, supple traditional Rioja blend. Some of them stayed the course; think of Dalmau from Marqués de Murrieta – a producer that manages the old and the new with marked success.

And the blending argument doesn’t stop there. One hot topic at the moment is that of single vineyards. From Priorat to Jerez to Bierzo, denominations are identifying, classifying and labelling their wines from village up to single vineyard. Rioja had to join in. It was bound to cause tears, however they made the decision to do it. So it has proved with the new Viñedo Singular category.

Certainly, the Viñedo Singular regulations are more specific and they place more requirements on the growers. But it’s important to remember that these wines are only just coming onto the market. Our intention for this guide was to do an ‘en primeur’ tasting, but we ended up tasting finished wines – with impressive results. Could you taste the single vineyard in every case? No. Is it a project worth having? Give it time. Regulations can be adjusted.

An example of just how hot this topic remains is this statement emailed to me from one producer in Alava: ‘We believe that the regulation approved by the consejo is a joke.’ This producer goes on to develop a widely heard criticism of the current legislation. Namely that producers have been able to register vineyard names, and in doing so can deprive others who are also growing vines on the land from using that name.

It’s certainly an oddity. Burgundy seems to manage perfectly well. Or take the famous Beckstoffer vineyard in Napa: a dozen or so producers have the right to use the Beckstoffer name on their wines from that vineyard.

This aspect of the Viñedo Singular legislation causes emotions to run high. However, at a meeting with Masters of Wine in July 2021, members of the Grupo Rioja (which accounts for about two-thirds of Rioja wine sales) admitted that the reforms were transitional, and likely to be modified.

Beyond the barrel

Classic Rioja is defined by its ageing legislation. But, as a producer, do you want to follow the tradition and be obliged to age your wine in 225-litre barrels for specific periods to qualify for the reserva or gran reserva stamp? Or do you want to use your own choice of container to reflect the character of your fruit? You can then release your wine as a genérico or a cosecha, with a simple vintage declaration.

It is widely understood that the reserva classification effectively guarantees the age of the wine – and its typicity. But it says nothing about the quality, or the capacity of the wine to withstand the time in barrel or bottle. I suggested to the producer of a successful portfolio of reservas and gran reservas that given his family reputation he could do without the classification altogether. His family name was the quality endorsement. He disagreed, firmly.

He did not feel straitjacketed by the legislation. But he did agree that the way in which many wineries, such as his, had communicated their story in the past was to invite visitors to admire the barrels in the cellar. Until recently, visitors rarely went to the vineyard, except perhaps for a picnic. They certainly did not clamber down into calicatas (purposely dug pits), as you would do in Chile or Argentina, to examine the layers of soil and rock. This is something that’s changing.

Individual identity

Wherever you are in the world, some form of political debate is never far away. In Rioja, it has bubbled up close to the top of the agenda. The Rioja wine region is formed from parts of four different administrative provinces: La Rioja, Navarra, Alava and a little bit of Burgos.

Both the Navarrans and the Basques are proud nations that have long histories of independence. The Basque Rioja Alavesa sub-region lies to the north of the Ebro, in the shadow of the Sierra de Cantabria. It’s curiously divided, with a small segment of Rioja Alta poking in between the two zones of Alava. Within 30km of each other, the road signs change from Basque to Castilian and back to Basque again.

A growing number of Alava producers are interested in leaving the DOCa. The debate here is between winemaker and winemaker – and there are strong feelings on both sides. What adds interest to the debate is that Rioja Alavesa has some exceptional terroir.

Andreas Kubach MW, managing director of Península Viticultores (the owner of Rioja brand Badiola) says fervently: ‘We believe that Rioja – and especially the part north of the Ebro (Alavesa and Sonsierra) – is one of the great terroirs of the world. It’s ideal because of the combination of altitude, the high proportion of old vines, the great genetic diversity in its plantings, the small growers with an average parcel size of only 0.3ha and – importantly – a unique predominance of limestone soils north of the Ebro river.’

Returning to that debate about blending, he adds: ‘Far too few wines truly translate this terroir to the glass, because of the historic focus of Rioja on wines of style, with their personality defined more by method of production than by terroir.’

The political argument remains tense and intractable. Other groups recognise that a collective identity can be obscured by the general ‘Rioja’ umbrella, or simply damaged by the size of the region and its regulatory body. The Bodegas Familiares de Rioja is such a group – as the name shows, they are family producers. Like many others, they see their aims as being at odds with those of the large-volume producers who are also a part of the totality of Rioja.

The ultimate decision is: in or out? The question is being asked not just in Rioja, but by producers across Spain. They find their regulatory body restrictive, and/or dominated by producers whose interests oppose their own. Or, as has happened in Cava, the wine itself has been degraded in the public eye by its generally low pricing. Certainly, I find it surprising that such a strong, important brand as Rioja still turns up at unsustainably low prices in UK supermarkets. One winery, Bodegas y Viñedos Artadi, decided to leave the DOCa at the end of 2016, although others didn’t follow. But Artadi has a strong personal profile and can afford to stand alone. This is intensely debated. So far, no firm decisions have been made, though one positive outcome is that many producers are becoming more explicit about their history, the sources of their grapes and their chosen wine styles.

Youth versus age

Finally, I must mention the not entirely artificial dichotomy between the new generation and their elders. Rioja is renewing itself, thanks to youthful energy and commitment. It all began with a group of maverick winemakers known collectively as Rioja ’n’ Roll: Sandra Bravo, Bárbara Palacios, brothers Arturo and Kike de Miguel, husband and wife Oscar Alegre and Eva Valgañón, Roberto Oliván – each of whom comes from a line of Spanish vine-growers – along with Tom Puyaubert, Olivier Rivière and Bryan MacRobert.

Since I first met them some years ago, they have become grown-ups in the wine game – pursued by international buyers, the press and sommeliers. Along with other names such as Javier Arizcuren, Eduardo Eguren and the newest kid on the block, former chef Jade Gross, they continue to mine the richness of Rioja.

Whatever you choose, the diversity of it all makes the glorious trip over the Sierra ever more rewarding.

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