Julian Chivite
Julian Chivite
(Image credit: Julian Chivite)

Leading Navarra producer Chivite is launching a second wine from its top estate, Arínzano.

The wine, launched in Madrid on Monday, marks the return to the family business of Julián Chivite, a member of the 11th generation of the ancient family.

Bordeaux consultant Denis Dubourdieu is consultant winemaker on the project.

Dubourdieu has worked for Chivite for 20 years but it was not until the launch of Arínzano this week that the family made his contribution public.

As a result of this behind-the-scenes role, he calls himself the ‘oenologue caché’ (hidden winemaker), but he said he can now acknowledge he has been the influence on Coleccion 125, widely regarded as Spain’s best Chardonnay, much-praised for its restrained use of oak, and its ‘Burgundian’ character.

Dubourdieu has no other clients in Spain, having agreed an exclusive arrangement at the outset.

Arínzano was purchased by the Chivite family in 1988. It became northern Spain’s first Vino de Pago (VP), the highest classification, which recognises a single estate as its own denomination.

There are 14 Vinos de Pago in Spain; another Navarra wine, Prado Irache, the estate wine of Bodegas Irache, gained VP status in 2008.

Arínzano itself was launched in 2000, and retails from €60.

La Casona, a 75% Tempranillo, 25% Merlot blend, is the second wine and will be retailing in Spain at around €22.

Dubourdieu said his contribution to Chivite is to add finesse and ageability to the wine.

‘I was always sure good wines were made in difficult conditions. Just as with people, difficulty strengthens the individual. It was the ambition of the Chivite family to make something remarkable at the extreme northern limit of Tempranillo. There are no predestined vineyards, just obstinacy.’

Future plans include a Casona Chardonnay. Syrah and Roussanne are also showing promise, Dubourdieu said.

Written by Sarah Jane Evans

Sarah Jane Evans MW
Sarah Jane Evans MW
Decanter Magazine, Wine Writer, DWWA 2019 Co-Chair

Sarah Jane Evans MW is an award-winning journalist who began writing about wine (and food, restaurants, and chocolate) in the 1980s. She started drinking Spanish wine - Sherry, to be specific - as a student of classics and social and political sciences at Cambridge University. This started her lifelong love affair with the country’s wines, food and culture, leading to her appointment as a member of the Gran Orden de Caballeros de Vino for services to Spanish wine. In 2006 she became a Master of Wine, writing her dissertation on Sherry and winning the Robert Mondavi Winery Award. Currently vice-chairman of the Institute of Masters of Wine, Evans divides her time between contributing to leading wine magazines and reference books, wine education and judging wines internationally.