Modern Rioja

Rioja is the leading area for the production Spanish red wine, even if Duero and Priorat are not far behind, which is not as uniform as some seem to think. Many believe its wines are the product of American barriques and Tempranillo grapes and that they age endlessly to become evolved. However, when you taste Rioja wines you discover that this is not all true. 

The upper Rioja is where the quality reds are produced. The clay soil on this plateau has an unmistakable mustard-hazelnut color and it is protected from the Atlantic by the Cantabrici Mountains. The area is subject to significant temperature variations and very hot summers and is delimited by a triangle between Haro, Laguardia and Logrono.

Here Tempranillo is king and in the autumn its leaves turn a wonderful, almost purple color. The grape can produce very rich wines, although at times with a low acidity, and many consider it to be a domestic Cabernet Sauvignon. The connection with Bordeaux is not casual because Rioja was created by the French in the second half of the 19th century when they came to the area to escape the phylloxera plague.

What becomes quite evident when you discover these wines is the distinct difference between styles. On the one hand there are the traditionalists who produce relaxed and evolved wines (complex when they are good, otherwise compromised by the wood), while on the other are the modernists. A leader in this second group is Finca Allende with wines that express Rioja character, something rare. And you will certainly be intrigued by the wine’s moody and emotional notes of game and amber united by a generous but not burning body with evident but not overbearing tannins

Related Products