Wine Talk by Robert Whitley

LOGRONO, Spain — Here in the midst of the historic bodegas, many of them more than 100 years old, a new Rioja emerges. The wines of modern Rioja are fresh and bold, layered with ripe fruit aromas and the sweet spices of new French and American oak. They are the breakaway wines of a region in transition.

Traditional Rioja has languished for decades, a prisoner of the past, or perhaps a victim of its own success. Long the most important and formidable of Spanish wines, Rioja has lost ground in recent years to competition from more forward thinking Spanish producers in Ribera del Duero, Priorato and Toro.

Or maybe Rioja was simply lazy, comfortable and content with bland crianzas (red wines aged for one year in barrel, one year in bottle) and reserve wines that too often failed to be special. The success of neighboring appellations, however, particularly in the United States over the past decade, has provoked the underperforming giant of Spanish wine from its slumber.

Now there is a strong desire to modernize viticulture and winemaking as well as the rules of classification that have long been identified with Rioja. Many modern wineries eschew the traditional classifications of crianza, reserva and gran reserva for more straightforward Riojas that are meant to delineate quality rather than age.

The modern Riojas are not necessarily better than the upper echelon of traditional Rioja, but they are poised to whet the appetite of the modern wine consumer who looks for forward, supple fruit with the same silky quality that traditional Rioja has always delivered.

I've recently visited a number of top producers in the region and here offer several of the better examples of modern Rioja.

 

BODEGAS ARTADI

Artadi, founded in 1985, is a relatively young winery by Rioja standards, and its youth is a reflection of its orientation, which is the modern expression of Rioja. Owned by the visionary Juan Carlos Lopez de Lacalle, Artadi shuns the traditional crianza, reserva and gran reserva classifications of Rioja.

The flagship wine of Artadi is Vina el Pison, a single-vineyard tempranillo produced from the six-acre Pison vineyard, which was planted in 1945 near the village of Laguardia in the sub-district of Rioja Alavesa, a cool microclimate in the northwest corner of Rioja. Yields are extremely low, which limits production to an average of about 700 cases per vintage. Only 100 cases of six (600 bottles) are shipped to the U.S. each year, at a retail price of $190 per bottle.

More accessible are Artadi's two Vinas de Gain, a red and a white, that retail for approximately $20 per bottle. The white is a barrel-fermented viura, the ubiquitous white grape of the region, and the red is produced from 100 percent tempranillo, the dominant red grape of the region. The white is doubtless among the three or four finest viuras I've ever tasted, and the red is a spectacular tempranillo for the price.

Both wines benefit from the fresh acidity that is a signature of the Rioja Alavesa awarded each a rating of 90 points. Artadi also make a 100 percent tempranillo from 50-year-old vines, Pagos Viejos that is superb but pricey at $125.

All three wines are from the 2006 vintage.

 

BAIGORRI

This freshly minted family operation in the Rioja Alavesa is visually impressive. Its sparkling new gravity-flow winery is built into a steep hillside that peers southwest through the valley toward the Ebro River. The grapes are handled meticulously, with multiple sorting tables to ensure only the healthiest grapes make it to the fermentation tanks.

The wines are fresh, fruit-forward and clean. Wines to look for are the Crianza 2005 (88, $25); Reserva 2004 (90, $40); and Vino de Garage 2005 (93, $65). A white, the 2005 Blanco Fermentado en Barrica (88, $20) is another lovely example of a renewed dedication to viura, though this one has a touch of malvasia in the blend.

For decades the whites of Rioja were renowned for dreary, oxidized whites that had likely already turned brown by the time they were bottled. Better vinification techniques and a healthier respect for world competition have dramatically altered the course of white wine in Rioja.

Baigorri is just now hitting its strode and the sky's the limit for this ambitious newcomer to the Rioja landscape.

 

BARON DE LEY

Situated in the Rioja Baja sub-region of the Rioja district, Baron de Ley is well positioned to deliver the riper, more voluptuous style that is most identifiable characteristic of the modern Rioja.

Rioja Baja is at the eastern end of the Rioja region, and greatly influenced by the Mediterranean. The growing season is warmer and longer, which suits the granacha and graciano that are widely planted alongside the tempranillo. Baron de Ley also has a small amount of cabernet sauvignon that finds its way into various blends.

All of the Baron de Ley reds show a fair amount of new oak. Combined with darker, weightier fruit and slightly higher levels of alcohol, it is one of the defining wineries of the modern Rioja. Wines to look for are the Reserva 2004 (90 points, $25); Gran Reserva 2001 (93, $40); and Finca Monasterio 2006 (91, $50), a luxuriously oaked tempranillo-cab sauvignon blend.

 

BODEGAS RODA

Roda is clearly one of the stars of modern Rioja, producing wines of extraordinary intensity and complexity. Of the three wines made by Roda, two fall under the traditional Rioja Reserva classification, which means they have spent a minimum two years in barrel and nearly three in bottle before release.

Roda Reserva 2004 (93, $45) is a blend of tempranillo, graciano and garnacha that is the most delicate of the three wines, though in no way the least. It is pure elegance in a glass, exhibiting aromas of violets, spice and red fruits, with depth and nuance that are remarkable considering it is the most understated wine of the three. Utterly beguiling.

Roda Reserva I 2004 (95, $70) is my personal favorite of the three, for it has the rarest of combinations: power with elegance. It is 100 percent tempranillo, with slightly riper, darker fruit than its sister reserva. Roda I is a wine that can be drunk now, but it stands to evolve spectacularly for those with the patience to tuck it away for a period of years.

Cirsion 2007 (94, $300) is Roda's highest "high-expression" Rioja, and it is very, very good. Made from 50-year-old vines, the yields are low and the wine that results intense and powerful. Notes or coffee, leather and forest floor contribute nuance and complexity to the massive black fruits at the core of this wine, and it is very much a wine in the New World style that is meant to be drunk now.

Next week's column will discuss traditional Spanish Rioja.

To find out more about Robert Whitley and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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