ELENA ADELL

Although she is currently one of the most influential players in Rioja, Elena Adell is hardly high-profile. She is the unsung hero behind the most important trend in Rioja in the last 30 years: namely, the huge improvement in the region’s more affordable wines. Rioja has built its mounting prestige on those highly accessible bottles, as much as the rare single-vineyard or ‘author wines’ that get so much attention from the critics.

That may sound somewhat over-enthusiastic, but consider this: Elena Adell is the alma mater of more than 42 million bottles of Campo Viejo, 80% of which are distributed in more than 70 countries annually. The Campo Viejo brand (campoviejo.com) is a reliable entry point to the category for new wine drinkers: the wines are clean, balanced, suave and well aged, and they are unmistakably Rioja. A lot of people fall in love with the region’s wines through Campo Viejo, and many remain loyal to the brand forever.

I cannot imagine a more difficult task for a winemaker than ensuring that 3.5 million cases of wine are made with consistent quality, environmentally respectful viticulture and genuine brand identity. Her way of making wine is far removed from the currently popular, non-interventionist approach, which romantically claims that one does nothing in the winery. She does a great deal. There is something more profoundly human and very honest behind Adell’s endeavour.

Let’s not forget that her benign influence will last for many years – many younger-generation winemakers in Rioja have learned from her. In this way, hundreds of professionals and millions of wine drinkers will be enjoying Adell’s subtle but sound influence for many years to come. PBT

‘Hundreds of professionals and millions of wine drinkers will be enjoying Adell’s subtle but sound influence for many years to come’