Atkin’s dozen: top single-vineyard white and red wines from Rioja
Viñedo Singular
1 Bodegas Valdemar, Conde Valdemar, Finca Alto Cantabria Blanco 2019 95 £ 14.29-£ 15.98 All About Wine, Corking Wines, Exel
This pure, old-vine Viura from limestonedominated soils is one of Rioja’s greatest bargains, and among its most ageworthy whites, fully capable of evolving in bottle for a decade or more. Fermented in French oak, it’s still young at the moment, with subtle vanilla spice, pear and citrus-peel flavours and bright, tangy, almost saline freshness. One to tuck away for a few years. Drink 2021-2032 Alcohol 12.5%
Juan Carlos Sancha, Cerro la Isa Blanco 2018 95
£ 55 WoodWinters
A brilliant, old-vine field blend from vines planted in 1906 at 700m in cool-climate Baños de Río Tobía. Fermented in new French oak, but not dominated by it, this is a cuvée of Garnacha Blanca, Malvasía,
Viura, Calagraño and Turruntés: pithy, intense, layered, with some texture from lees contact and flavours of beeswax, citrus, aromatic spices and a whisper of tropical fruit. Drink 2021-2028 Alc 13.5%
2 Ojuel, Carrasojuela 2019 93
£ 31.20 Flavours of Spain, L’Oculto,
The Cheeseboard Greenwich
Rising star Miguel Martínez sources his grapes from an old parcel at 600m on the slopes of the Moncalvillo mountains. This is Viura-based with a field blend of other white varieties, showing the freshness and perfume that are typical of the region. Fennel, citrus and quince flavours combine engagingly on the palate with a hint of oak spice. Drink 2021-2024 Alc 13.5%
3 Dominio de Berzal, Las Laderas de José Luis 2017 95
N/A UK www.dominioberzal.com
Fully justifying its selection among the first Viñedos Singulares, this comes from a 50-year-old, 1.1ha plot in the upper part of Baños de Ebro. Bright and deftly wooded, it’s all about freshness, perfume, balance and underlying concentration, with sweet bramble and raspberry fruit and fine-boned tannins. Drink 2022-2032 Alc 14.5%
Amaren, Carraquintana 2017 94
£69.99 Museum Wines
Juan Luis Cañas grows some of the best grapes in Villabuena de Alava, and it shows in the concentration and intensity of his wines, such as this one – an unusual cuvée of Tempranillo with 10% Garnacha, Graciano and Malvasía Rosada, showing layers of spicy, lively dark-berry fruit, deftly handled toasty oak and chalky minerality supported by sinewy tannins. Drink 2022-2030 Alc 14.5%
Viña del Lentisco, Villota, Viña Gena 2018 94
N/A UK www.vinovillota.com
The Pérez-Villota family’s holdings are right next to Contino (in fact, they used to be part of the same estate) and date back to the 1930s in the case of this varietal Tempranillo from vines close to the Ebro river. Chalky, intense and focused, this has bramble and blackberry fruit flavours, stylish oak and undertones of incense and wild herbs. Structured, serious stuff with supporting acidity. Drink 2022-2030 Alc 14.5%
Other single-vineyard wines
4 R López de Heredia, Viña Tondonia Reserva Blanco 2008 97
£ 36-£40 Four Walls, Hennings, Highbury Vintners, Mayfly Wine Co, The Black Dog Wine Co Still underpriced given its status as one of Spain’s greatest and longest-lived white wines, Tondonia is a thing of wonder. Made from Viura with 10% Malvasía, this has a combination of freshness, saltiness, oxidative notes and a bready, yeasty, dried mushroom-like finish. Subtly wooded, beautifully defined. Drink 2021-2035 Alc 13%
Artuke, La Condenada 2017 98 £65 Lea & Sandeman, Old Chapel Cellars
This 0.75ha parcel in Baños de Ebro was rescued from neglect in 2012 by Arturo and Kike de Miguel – hence the producer name, and ‘ The Condemned’ – and produces world-class wines from a blend of Tempranillo and 20% Graciano, Garnacha and white grapes. Fine, focused and beautifully balanced, it’s a Rioja grand cru red. Drink 2023-2035 Alc 14%
5 Palacios Remondo, Quiñón de Valmira 2017 97
£ 308.33 (ib)-£401.67 (2018) Berry Bros & Rudd, Millésima
Alvaro Palacios’ Quiñón de Valmira is the best wine from the Rioja Oriental and should serve as an inspiration for the sub-region’s producers. Made in tiny quantities from 33-year-old Garnacha with co-planted 5% Bobal and Tinto Velasco, it’s perfumed, elegant and refined, with graceful tannins and silky, caressing raspberry and red-cherry flavours that are reminiscent of Pinot Noir. Drink 2021-2030 Alc 13.9%
6 Contino, Viña del Olivo 2016 96
£45.83 (ib)-£75 Berry Bros & Rudd, Bordeaux Index, Cru, Farthinghoe Fine Wines, Fine & Rare, Hedonism, Richard Kihl, The Finest Bubble, The Wine Society, Waitrose Cellar
As its name indicates, this comes from vines located around an old olive tree in the upper part of the Contino estate. Combining Tempranillo with 10% Graciano, it’s a bold, structured, intense wine, showing aromas of thyme and incense and a dark-berry palate that’s powerful yet well balanced. Drink 2022-2035 Alc 14%
Marqués de Murrieta, Dalmau Reserva 2016 96
£61-£81 Harvey Nichols, Petersham Cellar, Portland Wine Co
One of a very small number of wines in Rioja that includes Cabernet Sauvignon – for historic reasons – this is an elegant, distinguished red blend based on 82% Tempranillo, with 3% Graciano completing the cuvée. Aged in new French oak, it’s a Bordeaux-influenced style showing refined tannins, notes of cassis, blackberry and cedarwood and a fresh, mineral-edged core. Drink 2023-2035 Alc 14.5%
Sierra de Toloño, Camino de Santa Cruz 2016 95
£85.95/magnum Lea & Sandeman
This could be classified as a new Viñedo Singular, but Sandra Bravo says that she can’t face the bureaucracy it would involve. Made with Tempranillo from a high, rocky, limestone-based site and aged in a combination of amphorae and larger oak, it’s a serious, sappy red with violet and wild-thyme aromas, redcurrant and pomegranate fruit and palate-cleansing acidity. Drink 2021-2030 Alc 13.5%