This blog is based on the Spirits of New Mexico radio show that aired on February 12, 2022. We do on-air tasting of one or two wines to illustrate what is available in a particular wine region, or as a contrast of what influence a wine region has on a grape or blend. We also contrast wine styles as in the current blog. We use suitable glasses for the type of wine and do a double-decant of red wines to insure they have opened sufficiently for accurate judging.
Since we covered the white wines of Spain last week, it seems only fair to cover the reds this week. Well that and the fact we love Spanish reds, which are still a great value. Last week we enjoyed Albarińo from Galicia in Northwest Spain and a Macabeo from Aragon in Northeast Spain. In between these two subregions is La Rioja. A destination we have visited before since some of Spain’s best reds are from here.
Spanish wine overview
There are over sixty defined wine regions and seven distinct climates within Spain, which is the third largest wine producer and the country with the most acreage devoted to wine. Along with Sherry and Cava, Rioja is probably the most recognized wine region in Spain and its principal grapes, Tempranillo and Garnacha the most popular.
The Spanish love aging their wines so many of their reds are bottle-aged much longer than other wine regions. A few Gran Reservas are held up to 20 years. American oak is very popular, but so is European oak.
Northwest Spain
Dominated by the Atlantic on its western and northern boundaries and the coolest region is dominated by whites near the coast with red wines primarily from Castilla y Leon which is further inland.
Red grapes: Tempranillo and Mencia, a lighter-bodied age-worthy wine
Northeast Spain
Directly below France and extending to the Mediterranean coast, this area includes La Rioja, Navarra, Aragon and the vast coastal area of Catalunya from which Priorat wines originate.
Red grapes: Tempranillo, Garnacha, Carignan, Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Monastrell (Mourvèdre in France) and Bobal in Valencia
Southern Spain
The vast area of southern Spain with Extramadura in the west and Castilla-La Mancha in the central region below Madrid and the Costa del Sol of Andalucía from Malaga to Cadiz, and Sherry.
Red grapes: Tempranillo, Garnacha, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Monastrell and Bobal
Spanish islands
Majorca: off the Spanish coast near Catalunya, red grapes: Manto Negro and Callet
Canary Islands: located off the coast of Western Sahara, Africa was a last port of call for ships heading to the Caribbean and Mexico: Listan Negro and Listan Prieto are the red grapes. Listan Prieto is related to the Mission grape in California and New Mexico where it was planted 140 years earlier. It is believed the varietal cultivated in New Mexico came from the Canary Islands.
Spanish wine classifications: DOP
- Vino de Pago: Single vineyard wines, 15 total
- DOCa/DOQ: Winery located in same region as grapes, a rigorous standard: Rioja and Priorat
- DO: Quality wines in 79 official wine regions
- IGP: lower standard from larger regional areas
La Rioja
Rioja is a D.O.Ca., or Qualified Designation of Origin, and the first to receive that classification. Rioja wine is made from grapes grown in the autonomous communities of La Rioja and Navarra, and the Basque province of Álava.
- Rioja is further subdivided into three zones: Rioja Alta, Rioja Oriental and Rioja Alavesa.
- Rioja Alta is at the highest elevation and known more for its “old world” style of wine. A higher elevation means a shorter growing season, so the wines have brighter fruit flavors and lighter on the palate.
- Rioja Alavesa produces wines with a fuller body and higher acidity. Due to poorer soil conditions, vineyards have a low vine density with large spacing between rows to reduce competition for the soil’s nutrients.
- Rioja Oriental formally Baja is strongly influenced by a Mediterranean climate making it the warmest and driest of the Rioja. Temperatures in the summer typically reach 95 °F. The wines are deeply colored and alcoholic with some wines at 18%. Many used for blending.
La Rioja Wines
I first sampled Rioja wines while vacationing on the Costa del Sol. For $10 I had my choice of many Rioja Reserva wines and if I wanted to splurge, $12 for an excellent Gran Reserva. I also discovered paella, which paired so well with Rioja wines.
The Erbo River flows thru Rioja and feeds 7 tributaries that form seven valleys south and west of the Erbo. Each has unique soil, topology and climate that influence the style of wine made. The region is 70 miles to the Bay of Biscay and port of Bilboa and the same distance to the French border. When we covered Aragon we mentioned that same river flowed through the center of Aragon, forming valleys there as well.
The Seven Valleys:
Alta Zonas: Oja Valley: highest elevation, Najerilla Valley most vineyards, Iregua Valley’s Iregua River divides Alta and Oriental zonas
Oriental Zonas: Iregua Valley, Leza Valley has steep canyons similar to high desert regions, Jubera Valley has more alluvial soils, Cidacos Valley mostly too hot for quality wines except at higher elevations, Alhama Valley borders Navarra and close to Aragon.
Map courtesy of Wine Folly
Check out Wine Folly: The Seven Valleys of the Rioja Wine Region
The New Rules for Rioja
The aging requirements have not changed, but a new category has been introduced.
- Crianza: 2 years aging; Red 1 year in oak, Rose/white 6 months
- Reserva: 3 years aging; Red 1 year in oak, 6 months in bottle Rose/white 2 years with 6 months in barrels, sparkling 2 years en tirage (on the lees) and Rioja designation, not Cava.
- Gran Reserva: 5 years aging, Red at least 2 in barrel and 2 in bottles, Rose/white 5 years aging at least 6 months in barrels.
- Gran Añada: sparkling 3 years en tirage, vintage wines are hand-harvested
There are also new rules for the Rioja wines in general:
- Rioja wines can now add the name of the village/municipality to the front label. There are 145 municipio names in Rioja. That would be fine for locals who would have more intimate knowledge of the villages, but impractical for us until each village establishes a reputation.
- Rosé or Rosado wines can now be made in a lighter style. Rosado wines required a fair amount of extraction, which affect palate and color. The Provence style is much more popular.
- There is a new sparkling wine designation called Espumosos de Calidad de Rioja which basically uses the méthode champenoise.
- Winemakers may now offer single-varietal white wines under the Rioja Blanco label.
The new Rioja rules identify four classifications of wines. These designations define geographical locations, not necessarily quality levels, although that may be inferred. The village designations, on the other hand will take several years to begin appearing on wine labels and only if they achieve enough fame to justify it; whereas the bodegas reputation is what most consumers will follow, but that’s just my opinion.
- Rioja DO
- Zonas: Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa and Rioja Oriental
- Municipios or village wines, which will be standouts only time will tell.
- Grapes, vinification, ageing, bottling within the municipios
- Each producer will need a separate winery in each municipios, unlike Burgundy
- Most Rioja wines now are blends from different regions so this will be a big deal
- There are 77 villages in Rioja Alta, 50 in Rioja Oriental, and 18 in Rioja Alavesa.
- Viñedo Singular or unique vineyards, with strict requirements, minimum vineyard age 35 years, all hand-harvested, yields 20% less than Rioja DO, vineyard under ownership at least 10 contiguous years
Rioja Red Grapes
The principal red grapes of Rioja are Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano and Mazuela, Tempranillo is usually the primary grape, but Garnacha is sometimes a principal grape. While a single varietal is possible, many Rioja wines are blends with Tempranillo as the main grape.
Tempranillo:
The principal red wine grape of Spain and Rioja. Flavors of cherry, plum, tomato, and dried fig and tertiary flavors of cedar, leather, tobacco, vanilla, dill, and clove. Aged in oak; typically aged 6-18 months in American or French Oak. Also known as Tinto del Toro and Tinta Fina, in Spain and Tinta Roriz and Aragonez in Portugal.
Garnacha:
Terroir: Grenache or Garnacha is a widely planted grape variety that ripens late, so it needs hot, dry conditions like Spain. The vine has a strong wood canopy and highly resistant to windy regions, although the Cantabrian Mountains shield the most of the powerful winds.
Flavors: Generally spicy, red berry-flavored (typically raspberry and strawberry) and soft on the palate producing wine with a relatively high alcohol content. Aged Grenache takes on leather and tarry notes; classic flavors of Spanish Priorat wines.
Mazuela (Cariñena, Carignan)
Outside of Catalonia, Mazuelo is mostly a secondary blending variety used to add acidity to the Tempranillo-based wines of Rioja though a few producers, such as Marqués de Murrieta, do make varietal examples of the grape. The grape is hugely popular in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of France. There is also a Cariñena DO in Aragon, which might be the grape’s origin.
As vineyards have aged there has been a lot more interest in this grape. Here is Wine Folly’s take on it. “Its fruit-forward red fruit and baking spice flavors, along with subtle notes of umami, make it the perfect food wine.”
Graciano
Graciano is a Spanish red wine grape grown primarily in Rioja. The vine is a low-yield producer harvested in late October. The wine produced is characterized by its deep red color, strong aroma and ability to age well. Graciano thrives in warm, arid climates. The grape is also known as Morrastel in France or Xeres in the US. Verdad Winery winemaker, Louisa Sawyer Lindquist makes an awesome Graciano.
There has been more interest in this grape of late. Because it is a low-yield producer and subject to downy mildew it is a high-maintenance grape. Since 1999, the Spanish government has offered subsidies to those vintners who will grow the grape. Those are economic decisions and a winemaker must have a passion for the grape and be willing to expend much effort to produce a single varietal wine.
What we are tasting: Baron De Ley Rioja Reserva 2016 14.5% ABV, $19.99 at Total Wine
Barón de Ley winery is located in Rioja. Housed in a centuries-old monastery, where the monks made wine more than 500 years ago, Barón de Ley was founded in 1985 as a ground-breaking project in DOCa Rioja: a vineyard-focused winery inspired by the Médoc châteaux.
Winery history
In 1548 the Count of Eguía, a nobleman from Navarra, built a castle-fortress in the 1,000 hectare Imas Estate of his property on the banks of the Ebro River, both a strategic and fertile land enclave.
In 1568 the Fortress and Estate became a property of the Benedictine Order as a result of an exchange of the Castle of Monjardín with the Count of Eguía. The monks used this logistical asset to breed wool-producing sheep and to make wine and spirits.
In a period of turmoil between the Church and the State, the Estate was confiscated from the Benedictine Order and, in 1839; General Martín Zurbano took possession as reward for his distinguished war service. In 1844, however, Zurbano wagered and lost all his lands in a historic card game and the Estate was redeemed by his administrator, Cayo Muro. (That had to be one heck of a card game. I wonder what the ante was?)
In 1880, the Jiménez family bought the Estate from Cayo Muro’s widow and they remained there for three generations, bringing to Finca de Imas a period of great splendor as an arable and livestock farm, which vestiges are still visible today.
- In 2000, Gonzalo Rodríguez was recruited as chief winemaker and he encouraged the plantation of new indigenous grape varieties.
- Barón de Ley won two International Wine & Spirits Competitions (ISWC) and was Spanish Wine Producer of the Year in 2004.
- The second largest ageing cellar in the world was completed in 2018, which holds 30,000 casks. (Now there is where I’d like to do a barrel-tasting.)
- In 2019 Pablo Tascón, one of Spain’s young and upcoming winemakers, joined Barón de Ley as Technical Director to work side-by-side with Gonzalo Rodríguez.
Barón de Ley takes manual harvest to new heights through a combination of hand-harvesting and hand-sorting of 1.8 million kg of grape every vintage, an impressive milestone in Rioja. The winery has over 600 hectares (1482 acres) across different subregions of Rioja, encompassing ten indigenous grapes.
This wine is made using Tempranillo grapes from their vineyards in Rioja Oriental. The estates are located in Mendavia and Los Almendros in Ausejo. See www.barondeley.com for details, videos.
Rioja Oriental – Town Medavia
- Extension 164 ha.
- Altitude 400 m.
- Climate Mediterranean continental
- Solis Alluvial calcareous
- Varieties Tempranillo, Graciano, Maturana
- Characteristics: Contemporary wines with a greater fruit concentration
Rioja Oriental Town Ausejo
- Extension 300 hectares, the largest Estate in Rioja
- Altitude 450 m.
- Climate Mediterranean continental
- Solis Alluvial calcareous
- Varieties Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano, Maturana tinta, Garnacha blanca, Sauvignon blanc
- Characteristics: Fresh wines with balanced alcohol, color and body
Analysis
The resulting wine made from these sources has good acidity, lively fruit, good structure and balance. This was an easy-drinking pleasurable wine at its price point. This is one of the newer styles of Rioja wines that for some are more approachable, but I also love the older styles like Faustino V Reserva and Gran Reserva wines.
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