The hotels of Logrono are full, all the restaurants are booked out and most flights into Bilbao are packed with the wine trade. Welcome to the eve of Winefuture 2009.
But a trip to Rioja wouldn’t be complete without a winery visit. We almost managed to avoid the wineries by visiting a monastery and a cathedral in Santa Domingo this morning. However my preferred place of worship would be a barrel cellar. They offer the same peace, calm and reflection of a church but the added bonus of wine. Call me a sinner.
Pernod Ricard-owned Campo Viejo has the largest barrel cellar I have ever seen and I would happily be left there. A whopping 70,000 barrels are housed here and 10% of those are new – it must cost a shed load. With the markets as they are, these expenses must hurt. Koldo Santamaria, the charming international director at Domecq Bodegas, said: “We still make a profit. In the current climate we all suffer but are going to have these kind of moments.
There’s been a definite move to 100% Tempranillos and a shift towards French rather than traditional American oak. It is certainly getting more difficult to spot a Rioja in a blind line-up, which is worrying for a Master of Wine student. I asked Santamaria if the region was in danger of losing its personality. “We don’t think we are breaking anything but bringing a new expression to Rioja,†he said.
“Rioja has been traditionally American oak aged but today the wines are finer but still keep the aromas you are used to. You don’t have any astringent taste at all and I think that has a lot to do with more French oak. It brings complexity too.â€
Less oxidative ageing and fresher fruit has got to be welcomed but the garnet Gran Reserva wines of Rioja with their coconutty American oak still have a place in my heart.
