Wine of the Week: La Rioja Alta, Gran Reserva 904
Oak is not a fashionable word in the wine world these days – but there is still a place for its skilful harnessing, particularly when it yields the evocative notes that are the signature of fine Rioja
When I penned my last editor’s letter for Decanter magazine, I finally tackled the question that I’d been asked more than any other during my 10-year tenure: what’s your favourite wine? My answer now is the same as it was then: Rioja.
For quality and value, nothing can touch Spain’s most famous vinous export, particularly when it comes to older vintages. For commercial reasons, coverage at Decanter was angled towards the grand châteaux of Bordeaux, a necessity which always grated somewhat. Because, while the top Bordeaux producers manage to coerce consumers into buying their wines ‘en primeur’ – 18 months prior to being bottled, and a decade or more away from being drinkable – Rioja’s producers have the decency to do the ageing for us.
Until a new designation came into force, in 2019, to identify wines produced from a single vineyard, a wine’s ageing regime was the only indication of quality on a bottle of Rioja. Top of the tree is the Gran Reserva category, which sees wines matured for five years (two in barrel and three in bottle) before release. Such a formula doesn’t guarantee excellence, but, in the best examples, it does add a wonderful smoothness to the sweetly spiced red fruit, tinged with smokey, savoury tones that ensure the wines are beautifully ready to drink – and, at a fraction of the price of top Bordeaux.
No producer is more adept in crafting this classic style than the venerable La Rioja Alta. Not to be confused with the Riojan sub-region of the same name, La Rioja Alta is an arch-traditionalist, and makes an art form of oak ageing. It is a truism in wine circles that ‘great wine is made in the vineyard’, but, whenever I think of Rioja, it is barrels, not vines, that come to mind. And, nowhere more so than at La Rioja Alta, which has its own on-site cooperage, is the barrel so integral to the standard of what’s in the bottle.
Buying barrels off the shelf, as most producers do, is too risky for La Rioja Alta. Instead, the winery imports American oak, seasons it for two years to its own specifications, and turns it into 3,000 new barrels a year. Such is the impact of this ingredient that I’m reminded of how the kaleidoscope of flavours integrated into great whiskies is down primarily to the quality of the casks in which they are aged, rather than the provenance of the barley.
Oak is not a fashionable word in the wine world these days, but there is still a place for its skilful harnessing – particularly when it yields the wonderfully evocative, autumnal aromas that are the signature of fine Rioja. And, nowhere is this better exemplified than in La Rioja Alta’s two gran reservas, the flagships of its range. The 890 and the 904 are named to commemorate two key dates – 1890, when the winery was formed; and 1904, when it joined forces with the Ardanza winery. The 890 is, in theory, the pre-eminent of the pair, being aged for six years in oak and a further six years in bottle prior to release. But, I have a soft spot – as does my wallet – for the better-value, more elegant and nuanced 904.
Sourced from a slightly higher-altitude vineyard, and with a touch more of the fresh, aromatic graciano grape variety to complement the dominant tempranillo, the 904 sees a mere four years in oak and four in bottle before release. The winemaking regime has been tweaked slightly in recent years, with the small percentage of white grapes eradicated from the blend and the oak-ageing reined back slightly, measures that are intended to accentuate the brightness of the fruit character over any unintegrated woodiness. The current vintage, the 2015, is typically generous in its make-up, its toasty, caramel-inflected nose giving way to a palate whose mature red fruits are complemented by smokey coffee notes.
Today, La Rioja Alta has many strings to its bow, with a range of exemplary wines at Riserva level – notably Viña Ardanza and Viña Arana – as well as a more ‘modern’ Rioja at its Torre de Oña winery, in neighbouring Rioja Alavesa. But, sometimes, the oldies are the best – and nowhere more so than with the Gran Reserva 904.
Want more wine content? Read our review of The Moorooduc McIntyre Pinot Noir 2020…
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