Rioja Oriental: 10 producers to watch
BODEGAS D MATEOS
Now in its seventh generation, the Mateos family is based close to the Ebro river at Aldeanueva, but has impressive holdings of mainly Tempranillo and Garnacha, the latter straying to the foothills of Mount Yerga. Their range of wines is stylistically broad and generally both versatile and successful.
BURGO VIEJO
Six small bodegas located around Alfaro joined forces in 1987 and built a smart new winery, their 20ha of vineyards surrounding the town and climbing into the hills. The range runs the gamut from crianza to gran reserva; everything is fermented in stainless steel, then matured in barricas, the 80:20 ratio reflecting both the Tempranillo/Garnacha division and also the preference for American oak over French.
ISIDRO MILAGRO
One of Spain’s larger companies, producing several different labels around the country. It is perhaps all the more exciting, therefore, to discover such a jewel as its old-vine Graciano and to witness how the winemakers have coaxed all that is best from this fascinating variety.
JAVIER ARIZCUREN
The natural successor to Alvaro Palacios, Arizcuren is an articulate and gifted winemaker who has made it his life’s work to reverse the recent trend of grubbing up all of the old mountain Garnacha in favour of more fertile plots nearer to the Ebro. So far he has, somewhat against the commercial odds, succeeded magnificently.
NAVARRSOTILLO
As its name suggests, Navarrsotillo is based in the administrational region of Navarra, its vines located on the most southerly edge of Rioja Oriental. Apparently uninspiring alluvial soils have been transformed by a strictly organic regime, with vineyards chosen carefully to suit their plantings of both Garnacha and Tempranillo.
ONTANON
Siblings Raquel, Rubén and María Pérez Cuevas make a terrific team: fifth generation in this case. Their plantings in Rioja Oriental span more than 250ha, a lot of it farmed organically, and their vines climb, at La Pasada, to an impressive 800m. Great ambassadors for a reawakening region!
PALACIOS REMONDO
Having raised the profile of both Bierzo and Priorat, Alvaro Palacios, possibly Spain’s most charismatic winemaker, has reinvented his family bodega in Alfaro, chased away the low-hanging fruit and set out a fantastically seductive stall in the foothills of Mount Yerga. Sombrero, hombre!
RAMON BILBAO
Chief winemaker Rodolfo Bastida is a great fan of Rioja Oriental, so much so that he personally supervised the purchase of the company’s precipitous Garnacha vineyards in the region. In addition, the producer’s nearby Tudelilla vineyard, pebbly with a red-sand backdrop, provides the
Garnacha component of its celebrated Viñedos de Altura, in combination with Tempranillo from Abalos in Rioja Alavesa.
VINA HERMINIA
The Viña Herminia brand was created by the Luis Caballero Group, owners of the superlative Lustau Sherry range, their intention to add expertise and a touch of glamour to the dusty landscape of what was then called Rioja Baja. They have achieved this goal with great aplomb and the whole region has benefitted accordingly.
VINEDOS REAL RUBIO
By means of careful organic husbandry, dynamic producer Real Rubio has transformed the apparently mediocre potential of its location into something more special – sure proof that Ebro Tempranillo- dominated blends can indeed capture the essence of what will become a distinguished and ageworthy Rioja.