Thank you all for great responses again. I have my work (pause for laughter) cut out to find a few of the bottles. I think that’ll be the summer goal so I can taste in fall.
I am about to have all the pinot with the GF in spring so Rioja/RdD autumn sounds wonderful.
NMarusiak89 - if you want to learn about the region, you can start with the centenary wineries. Those are the ones that were started in the late 1800s/early 1900s. They were the new style producers at the time and they are now considered the “traditional” producers. So those would be Marqués de Murrieta, which is the oldest, dating from the 1850s but they moved to the Ygay estate only in the 1870s. They were followed by Marqués de Riscal, which was founded in 1860. Those two pre-date everyone else and they created the modern style of winemaking in Rioja because they brought French techniques over.
Then in the 1870s and 1880s you have Bodegas Montecillo, Sierra Cantabria, Berberana, Lopez de Heredia, Bodegas de la Marquesa, CVNE, Bodegas Riojanas, Bodegas Franco-Españolas, Lopez de Heredia, and Martínez Lacuesta.
In the very early 1900s you have Bodegas Bilbaínas, La Rioja Alta, Muga and Faustino.
Those are the wineries that brought the Bordeaux style of winemaking to Rioja, using barrels and barriques, topping up, racking, etc. They all have house styles. There was actually Cabernet Sauvignon planted, but when Rioja received DO status, that was banned. You will note that many of these wineries were founded during or right after the phylloxera outbreak in France, which is why so many French influences came to Spain at the time.
You can start by exploring some of the wines above. Most of the bodegas bought grapes from local growers in those days.
And wineries like CVNE (Compañía Vinícola del Norte de España )have several lines. The Imperial line is the top. They also have a sister, Vina Real, that they started in the early 1900s to showcase wine from the Rioja Alavesa region. Those are quite good. They started one of the first “estate” wineries, Contino, to showcase their own properties, and Contino in turn, produced Vina Olivo to showcase a specific vineyard. And then they started a cheesy lower level, called Cune, to sell at a lower price point.
There were aging laws for crianza, reserva, and gran reserva wines.
Today, many people reject those three categories and sell wine without those designations. In addition, many producers are making vineyard-specific wines and they’re using grapes that were not necessarily highlighted in the past. You can buy monovarietal Graciano or Mazuelo today, and even fifteen years ago that was extremely rare. It is almost impossible to get a “sense” of the region today because there is so much in flux. You can, and should, explore the older wineries and their styles, but they are no longer the only game. What people call “traditional” today, like the LdH wines, were not traditional at all when they were founded. And even more confusingly, the lowest level CVNE wine, the Cune line, still carries the crianza, reserva, gran reserva designations. So
I think that was the main problem I was worried about when I posted. There’s multiple classifications, but also multiple “styles”. I think the post in general was more what’s the best way to eliminate the ones I don’t like while focusing on the ones I do.
Especially considering you are two facets: Ageing standards and then stylistic focus aka (new, bordeaux, traditional, etc)
Great thread with lots of varied inputs!
Enjoy the journey!
Total Wine near me usually has a couple bottles from Artadi, its not a classic bodega and they decided to leave the Rioja designation but the wines are incredible.
(Disclaimer: we represent Murrieta here in Ontario).
Interestingly enough, I feel that Marques de Murrieta is quickly becoming one of the more post-modern wineries, especially given their size. They have been consistently dialling down the extraction and oak over the past decade or so, and have begun stepping back from the Rioja classification system because they don’t want to emulate the stereotypes of oxidized, dull, and brittle wines many people associate with extended barrel-aging.
The 2021 Reserva takes this commitment to freshness and vibrancy to the next level (the brilliant vintage didn’t hurt) and they are slowly phasing out the Gran Reserva in favour of a new expression - I believe Luis Gutierrez at RP was the first to review it recently.
To answer the question presented in the topic, I was going to suggest using a car. Walking around Rioja takes a long time
I’ve had a lot of luck with Bodegas Riojanas through the years, but the ‘new stuff’ (starting this century) hasn’t been as exciting as what I’ve had from the 80s and 90s. That’s pretty much true for all of Rioja though.
I’d second the caution about Lopez de Heredia, it’s not a style for everyone, even self proclaimed lovers of Tempranillo. I have a mixed track record with them — some utterly transcendent wines, some off-puttingly idiosyncratic. The whites and rosado are consistently brilliant though.
This is an excellent take, IMO.
Remelluri family paid for your bottle. What restaurant? I need to be sitting there.
I’m kind of in the same boat as the OP, trying to figure out an approach to exploring Rioja.
Regarding LdH, I’ve been blown away by a couple of recent 2012 Vina Bosconia (two different occasions). But with food. On their own, they were unimpressive, acid-driven, light-ish red wine. As they got some air during the meal, they just complemented the food perfectly and everything just seemed enhanced. This happens with quite a few of the wines that I drink with meals, but those two bottles reached the pinnacle of the interaction between food and wine.
Regarding Remelluri, I don’t have much experience with the producer, but I’ve enjoyed the few bottles that I’ve tried, most recently a couple of bottles of the Reserva at a restaurant a couple of years ago. It seemed slightly toward the “modern” side of the spectrum, with some level of being fruit-forward, but also seemed very Rioja-esque to my novice Rioja palate.
We had a good convo about Rioja here a few years ago when I was starting to explore it: Which Rioja (between Prado Enea, Castillo Ygay, and LRA 904) would you lay down today and why?
Ultimately I really only drink LdH regularly now. Prado Enea can be a great wine as well. I’d rather buy Bordeaux at the higher end vis-a-vis Rioja though.
The 2008 is the only wine that Ive had bottles singing on their own, but theres definitely variation.
If I have to have one knock on Rioja reds, it’s their almost-dedicated affinity with Spanish foods in order for them to strut their best, aside from the obvious universal pairings of reds with roasted and grilled meats.
Riojan wine region is a landmine and while I’ve had very fine aged bottles from Riojan producers like Muga, LRA, Riojanas and CVNE, I’ve had more than my fair share of aged great Lopez de Heredia wines that had stood the test of time and I decided years ago that with the cost-prohibitive storage space in my market I would not keep to age any from the region other than those from LdH.
I happened to finally get around to a tasting of 4 Riojas and figure I’d share notes:
I did this very unscientifically: using a coravin to pour about 4 oz tasters. I’d sample them with the gf within a minute or two, then wait an hour or two and see if there was a major difference by myself.
I purchased all locally through a wine store via a distributor: 3 of the wines were 2019’s and one was a 2014.
In order our lineup was : 2019 CVNE Reserva, 2019 La Rioja Alta Vina Ardanza Reserva, and 2019 Ramirez de la Piscina Rioja Reserva and then a 2014 LDH.
Of the 4, the CVNE was easily the most drinkable straight out the bottle but didn’t have much in the way of complex notes. It feels like it’s in its window but didn’t feel complex enough to warrant anything more than a year or two unless someone was blowing them out for cheap.
The LAA and Piscina share similar notes to one and another. The oak in both was very, very prominent. Perhaps a touch heavy? I didn’t particularly enjoy either of them but wouldn’t necessarily throw them away. Maybe just a fancy dinner night where something really holds up to them?
Of course the 2014 LDH was my favorite. It struck the best balance between oak and fresh fruit with enough complexity to keep going.
I didn’t do a full note-taking tasting on the bottles individually so my actual tasting notes are pretty simple but it was fascinating to try them all next to each other.
Thank you all for your help.
Which LdH are now talking about?
Bosconia is my guess based on vintage and current releases
This would’ve been my guess as well.
Nice range of bodegas there. I would consider the Piscina to be the most popularly styled, of that group. Thanks for updating everyone
I’d have to double check but it was listed as Bosconia reserva so I’m going to go with that and check when I get home in a little bit.