Reviews

Rioja classic and modern
«Vinnaya Karta» №3(84) April 2007

The opposition between old and new styles of Rioja wine as witnessed in the 1990s has lost its tension.

Historic bodegas and new-wave wineries have found way to a peaceful neighbourhood — and both camps give valid arguments in defense.

“Modernism vs. classicism” seminar was recently held within “Madrid Fusion” fair. It was organized by the Regulating Council of Rioja wines and was run by famous Spanish critic Jose Penin and leading American expert on wines of Spain Gerry Dowes. Nothing revolutionary was proclaimed. The main idea of the speeches was that great Rioja can be produced both in traditional and modern styles. The accent should be placed on quality, not the difference of approaches.

The statements will probably not find full support among the followers of one or another style. Nonetheless, the current situation in Rioja allows to talk about co-existence of two winemaking schools with the boundaries between them getting more blurred.

Historically Riojan producers strived to make wines following example of great Bordeaux wines. The main practice borrowed from Bordeaux back in the end of the 18th century, was aging in barrels. Riojan winemakers avoided full imitation as they worked with local varieties and aged wines in American oak.

Thus a unique style was established. Its quality was determined by the time the wine spent in contact with oak. Before bodegas kept it in cellars for 15-20 years. Now the maximum period of aging is 5 years (for Gran Reserva), but Rioja is still considered to be one of the longest aged wines in the world.

A traditional Riojan style is about a warm colour scheme with shades of brick and terracotta. One finds notes of earth, leather, spices, autumn leaves. Light flavours of red fruit and berries are softly featured within this frame. The palate is refined and is characterized by seamlessness and wholeness of perception. Wines keep freshness thanks to high acidity. Tannins have softened by now and give a silky texture. Classic Riojan wines can live in bottle for decades.

About 90% of Rioja producers still follow traditional style, however their image is losing to that of modernists. Until very recently the main criteria of attaching a winery to a new camp was use of French oak instead of American. Starting from the 1990s wines of opaque, nearly black colour with high concentration of flavour, dominance of black fruit, high alcohol and low acidity, firm tannic structure and reign of characteristics received from the new oak appeared in Rioja.

The main polemics also started then. New wave producers criticized the traditionalists that they didn’t give due attention to vineyards, that their style of wine didn’t meet consumers’ tastes. Traditionalists accused modernists in betraying the values of Rioja, in creating uniform wines, in blind use of fashionable technologies, in being led by the critics and in inflating prices.

Winemakers of both camps thought over the criticism and reviewed some approaches. Traditional bodegas abandoned practices of mixing several vintages in a wine, started to work more in the vineyards, installed modern equipment. ‘Neoclassic’ estates appeared and combined historic heritage with modern approach. Avant-garde followers reduced the influence of barrels to get more drinkable wines.

Today the quality offer of Rioja wines meets the widest spectrum of tastes. New wave wines are firmly established on the international markets, however the latest curious phenomenon is an increased demand for well aged Gran Reserva. Its sales grew by nearly 40% in a short period. Having gone through a cycle of renewal, eternal values of Rioja came back with higher winemaking standards and variety of styles.

The Madrid seminar offered an opportunity to evaluate wines made in different styles. Classic wines refuted the theory that traditional winemaking is losing ground. Refined and restrained character, ease of perception and refreshing palate, wholeness and great gastronomic attributes — these are the features of such classic examples as Gran Reserva 890 1994 from La Rioja Alta and Faustino Gran Reserva 1996 from Bodegas Faustino. Vina Pomal Seleccion Centenario 2001 from neoclassic Bodegas Bilbainas showed a good combination of red fruit and nuances of new oak.

In the camp of modernists some winemakers tried to get very extractive wines with high concentration and expressive notes of new oak — Pujanza Norte 2004 from Bodegas y Vinedos Pujanza and Remirez de Ganuza Reserva 2001 from Bodegas Fernando Remirez de Ganuza. A number of bodegas found equilibrium between reflecting best features of the vineyards and fine winemaking techniques — Propriedad 2004 from Bodegas Palacios Remondo, Ysios Edicion Limitada Reserva 2001 from Bodegas Ysios, San Vicente 2003 from Senorio de San Vicente.