Visiting Rioja

My recent visit to Rioja saw a region slowly undergoing many transitions. Historically Spain’s best known and most important wine region, there is a lot of tradition and conservative resistance to change in Rioja. However, there are a number of ambitious producers attempting to change how Rioja is understood to better sell and promote the wines—and to make the best, most expressive wine possible.

I wrote last year about meeting Carlos Lopez de Lacalle of Artadi, when he voiced his frustration at Rioja producers’ reluctance to explore and express its regional variations. He looked to Burgundy for inspiration, where vineyards have a known quality and character; in contrast, Rioja is presented as one single identity, a tradition he is fighting. Visiting Rioja underlined that he is not alone, and that top producers are moving to more vineyard specific wines.

Castillo de Cuzcurrita

The Rioja authorities have responded to this debate by creating a new Viñedo Singular designation. To be labelled as such yields must be 20% lower than regular Rioja DOCa regulations, the vines must be 35 years old, and the winery must have worked with the vineyard for ten years. Some producers are keen to take advantage; I visited Castillo de Cuzcurrita who make two Viñedo Singular wines, believing that the designation allows them to promote the different styles of Tempranillo made from two different sites—“Cerrado de Castilla” comes from a 35-year-old vineyard surrounding the winery, while “Tilo” comes from old vines overlooking the property, higher up with a more Atlantic influence.

Others, such as Gómez-Cruzado, feel that the designation has limitations, that making a wine from an organically-farmed, 35-year-old vineyard doesn’t equate to quality or define the character of the site. They’re equally determined to make wines that express the varied nature of Rioja’s terrain, but feel that the Viñedo Singular category needs to be stricter and more related to quality.

This sense of place is important in defining Rioja because its terrain does vary more than I expected. Castillo de Cuzcurrita are based in the small village of Cuzcurrita in La Rioja Alta, where plantings are high up and exposed to the Atlantic which is only 70km away; however, the Cantabrian mountains protect the vineyards to some extent, with annual rainfall of 650mm. To the south of the region are the Demanda mountains which protect the region from inland, continental Spain. These two mountain ranges create localised growing conditions in the valley below, and also allow high-altitude plantings on rocky soils for different styles of wines. Those producers wishing to produce varied expressions of Rioja have lots of options to choose from.

This slow, complicated, and disputed move away from regional blending is echoed by an increased emphasis on individual grape varieties. The traditional expression of Rioja is as a blend dominated by Tempranillo, boosted by the body and alcohol of Granacha with some Mazuelo (Carignan) and Graciano for acidity, tannin, and aromatics. These blends are still extremely important and, at their best, high quality, but producers are also increasingly concentrating on single-varietal wines.

And it’s not just Tempranillo from established, individual sites. Gómez-Cruzado make a Garnacha, “Pancrudo,” from a lesser-known region, Najerilla, which used to be the source for inexpensive rosado. Now, the vines are old and can achieve greater ripeness due to warming conditions. Some of the developments in Rioja are being pushed by dynamic producers, others caused by a changing climate.

López de Heredia

All of this shows a great deal of experimentation within Rioja, albeit showing in the market at a slow pace. Not all producers are experimental, emphasising the tradition and history of a region that dates back centuries. I got to visit López de Heredia, an iconic producer who try to do everything as if it were still the nineteenth century. It’s an extraordinary place to visit, cobwebs hanging from the ceiling, mould forming on the wall, fermentation vessels going back over a hundred years. There’s also a cooper on site, using equipment rarely seen out of a museum. It’s extraordinary that the wines are not only so good but that they remain relatively clean. Sometimes, tradition is worth preserving.

Overall, I came away convinced that Rioja is not one entity but a series of entities and that producers are right to stress the importance of expressing these differences in the wines. Other Spanish regions are also reimagining their identity: recently Ribera del Duero announced white wine will be part of the DO while nearby Reuda has changed some of its labelling terms. Such changes are designed to highlight the quality and diversity of the regions, as seen in Rioja. Now, producers are going to have to agree on how they’re going to do that.