Travelling around Rioja

Our trip to Rioja

I thought it would be fun to share with the group notes from the tastings we did on our recent trip to Rioja.

Unlike in Napa, in Northern Rioja (actually Southern Basque Country but within the Rioja wine appellation) you can’t just show up for a tasting – you need to book in advance a tour of the winery, which ends with a generous wine glugging (2+ full glasses of wine). We therefore only tried a few wines at the wineries, and then a couple of others at dinner etc.

There are several ‘ages’ of red wines in Rioja:

· Young wine: Bottled directly or stored less than 1 year in barrels

· Crianza: Stored for 1 year in barrels, 2 months in bottle

· Reserva: Stored for 3 years, at least 1 of which in barrels

· Gran Reserva: Stored for 5 years, at least 2 of which in barrels

Here in descending order are our favorites…

1) Pujanza 2004 Crianza (9/10): This was one of the first we tasted so may have a biased read, but for a youngish wine it had a great plumy chocolately smell and strong rich thick taste (like good expresso). Would be great with a hearty steak. Tasted in a ‘tasting shop’ in Laguardia as the winery does not do tours.

2) Ysios 2001 Reserva (9/10): Very different to the Pujanza. Oaky aroma with undercurrants of red fruit. Very smooth velvety taste – a sophisticated wine! Apparently 2001 was the ‘best year ever’ for Rioja wines’. Tasted at their winery – small boutique winery with 70 hectares and a very cool building, part of the Domecq Group. Cost per bottle at the winery = 12 Euro.

3) Vina Albina Rva 2000 (8.5/10): Tasted great, but can’t remember the subtleties! Tasted at Karl and Laura’s wedding in San Sebastian, so could have been influenced by the ambiance and Michelin-star chef!

4) Marques de Riscal 2002 Reserva (8/10): Typical ‘Rioja’ flavors, very rich and chocolately, slightly treacly. Still a little astringent – could do with a few more years in the bottle before drinking. Very rich – one glass was enough. Tasted at the winery – a huge operation with 200 hectares of their own and total production of 1500 hectares. Impressive place with the super-expensive Gehry-designed hotel on site. Cost per bottle at the winery = 12 Euro.

5) Trujalero 2003 (7.5/10): Very drinkable table wine – would be great with pasta or pizza. Tasted in a ‘tasting shop’ in Laguardia.

6) Fabulista Decidido 2004 (4/10): Pretty rough! Some fruit including blackberries in the smell, but tasted quite astringent and a bit dry. Tasted at the winery – a very small operation in the old town of Laguardia making wine by traditional methods including crushing by feet, storing in very humid mouldy cellars, etc. Great experience, not so great wine!

We also had at dinner a Muga (very good, but hard to judge as was served in pint glasses on the beach), and a Campillo (again very tasty but can’t remember details). We tried valiantly to visit the Muga winery but they only had tours at the ungodly hour of 10am (and we were having trouble getting out of bed before midday given the jetlag). We stopped by to see the winery and they said we could buy wine but not taste it on the premises – I am guessing they make their money from international distribution not local tourism!

Finally we also had a tasty white Rueda 2006 from the Marques de Riscal – fruity fresh pineappley/peachy and only $6 a bottle at the winery. Had some of the richness of a chardonnay without the oily/buttery/oaky flavour.

Hope this helps if anyone plans on visiting the region – we had a great time. It is truly beautiful countryside and great for biking (though very hilly), touring around lots of lovely old villages and enjoying plenty of good Spanish food.

Emma and Huck

Two Plonks We LOVE!

Secret de Campane (French) - 60% Granache blend. Cactus says, "versatile and relatively well-balanced; fruity but not jammy, slight earthiness and soft tannins." This deep magenta glass with a nose of berries runs only about $6.99 at our local wine shops.

Barrio La Boca (Argentine) - Malbec. We don't have notes on this, but it is a spicy well balanced red that is also quite versatile (we have had it with pasta often). And at only $3.99 a bottle (TJ's presents a superior value!), you can pop this bottle open with any 'ole meal.

Tasting the Virginia Wine Trail

We were pleased to see the Virginia wine trail featured in this month’s Travel and Leisure magazine’s article on “5 New Wine Regions You’ll Love.” The wine trail is located adjacent to my home town, and though we’ve heard rumors of its growing popularity, the recent article confirmed those rumors. As we often frequent the area to see family, Cactus decided last Thanksgiving that we simply had to make the effort to begin sampling some of the wineries close by. In addition to the mere intrigue of discovering new wines, a northern Virginia wine tour also provides for beautiful scenery (even in November), filled with bucolic landscapes, antebellum plantations, and rolling hills. Additionally, most of the venues feature regular events, picnic space, and live music.

Our Thanksgiving trip concentrated on hitting the most prominent wineries that were grouped in the area closer to my home. The two major wineries that I had heard of prior to reviewing the Virginia wine trail guide were Breaux Vineyards (Purcellville) and Tarara Winery (Leesburg). We also visited the smaller Lost Creek Vineyard and its sister property next door (whose name is escaping me right now). After flights at all the wineries, we felt that the strength of the Virginia wineries tended to lie in their white blends (which tended to be reasonably priced), rather than the heavy-hitting reds (which were more boutique-priced), many of which tended to be on the overly tannic (should I say tea-bag?) side. We were pleasantly pleased with the oaky balanced character of the Lost Creek Chardonnay, and Breaux’s sweet Vidal Blanc blend, "Chere Marie," went undoubtedly well with spicy Thai food, as Cactus had suspected. We were most impressed by the overall strength of selections offered at Tarara (though it should be noted, that we did basic flights at each winery rather than the more expensive “reserve” flights). Tarara’s “Chaval” was a pleasant unoaked Chardonnay blend, and their “Cameo” single-handedly made us reconsider our thoughts on rosé. We also fell victim to their dessert red, whose blackberry notes are slated to pair excellently with chocolate.

Breaux – tasting fee, basic wines range from $10-$28
Tarara – tasting fee, basic wines range from $12-$45
Lost Creek – tasting fee waved with purchase