For a long time, Rioja has been considered Burgundy of Spain …and also its Bordeaux , despite using totally different, indigenous grapes. The reason is simple. The cooler clime oriented Rioja Alta has a climate similar to Burgundy . The whole region has been fragmented with small parcels of vineyards due to the hereditary laws which resemble those in Burgundy with size as small as 1000 sq mtrs found frequently.
Although producing wine for 2200 years, the defining moment came when many of the producers from Bordeaux who were hit by phylloxera in the 1870s decided to set up their own Bodegas ( wineries) in the Southern neighbour, Spain . The small town of Haro (pronounced ah-row) was already linked with Bordeaux by rail and thus became the wine capital of La Rioja. The wine making conditions were different and the main grape used was the indigenous Tempranillo but the opportunity was there to implement their methods and establish a stable supply line. This love affair lasted only till the end of century when the disease caught up with Rioja and they packed up and went home, selling the wineries to the locals who cared to buy. No wonder, out of 17 wineries in La Rioja over 100 years old, 11 are in Haro.
It is important to understand the difference between Rioja and La Rioja. Rioja is the Appellation (as AOC in France and DOC in Italy ). DO is a common Denominacion de Origen appellation. DOCa- DO Calcificada signifies wines of consistent higher quality and DO Rioja was first to be promoted to DOCa Rioja in 1991 (Priorat and Cava are the only two other regions to have earned this honour). The Appellation has 61000 hectares of land under vine out of which 42000 (70%) falls in the La Rioja province. Balance 30% is equally divided between the provinces of Navarra and Basque, to the North of La Rioja.
La Rioja is the smallest province in size but the highest exported wine region of Spain . The whole province has 350,000 inhabitants of which about 100,000 live in Logronyo, the capital. The region is one of the richest areas with a well established auto ancillary industry and home appliances factories, which is attracting many immigrants, legal and illegal. Riojans are considered rugged and hard working, an important qualification for viticulture. A city tour would put an estimate of 700,000 inhabitants with an unprecedented boom in construction. The face of the region is the wines which used to be synonymous with premium Spanish wines and had a virtual monopoly in all good restaurants in Spain . Ribera del Duero and Priorat are now taking it head on. Other reason for the arrival of new kids on the block can be ascribed to the astronomical increase in price of Rioja wines in the last 20 years, a trend that has stabilized in this millennium.
To be fair , there has been an improvement of quality during this period. With new techniques of fermentation and barrel aging, the wine styles are converging to a more friendly style where they are more fruity, less tannic wines made from low yielding grapes and using barriques from new French and American oak to add complexity to the wines and round off the tannins. As I discovered during the professional tastings at the 4 th Grandes de La Rioja 2006 earlier in the month, great wines are still available if one has the ability and inclination to chart the territory.
Rioja boasts of a unique terroir. Located around Rio Ebro that runs from Northwest to the East; the region is named after another small river Rio Oja . T he beautiful valley is surrounded by Sierra de Cantabria mountains in the North preventing cold winds and the tall snow peaked Domanda mountains at a distance, in the South. The upper portion , Rioja Alta has cool Atlantic climate while the lower Alta Baja is more in the plains and has warmer climate making it more suitable for the hot-climate grape like Garnacha.
Another unique feature in Rioja is that due to the small sizes of the plots, one is allowed to buy grapes from outside and mix with own grapes and still call the wines DOCa unlike in Bordeaux . Many co-operatives are flourishing. But most producers do not own their own estate and contract with farmers to make their own wines. Besides, it is allowed to blend grapes from all parts of Rioja provided they are from the same Appellation.
Rioja is known mostly for its red wines with Tempranillo as the main grape (75% of total vines) with Garnacha (Grenache), and other local varieties, Graciano (pronounced as Grah-th-iano, 'th' as in Arthur) and Mazuelo used in small quantities in the blend. Crianzas, Reservas are more popular than the Gran Reservas which at times with too much oaking (5-10 years) yield soft vanilla flavour wines but with less fruit and freshness.
