TRENDING
A New Rioja By Ricki-Lee Podolecki, DipWSET
Joven
No Oak required, Made to Drink Young
Crianza
One Year in Barrel, Two Years Total
Reserva
One Year in Barrel, Three Years Total
Gran Reserva
Two Years in Barrel, Five Years Total
The former Rioja classification system for red wines was based solely on strict ageing categories.
One of the key things we learn when we study wine is that single vineyards offer something unique: each expresses how that site is special and rare enough that it can produce a quality wine. So it seems backward that Rioja’s strict rules have traditionally meant that that producers could get in trouble simply by putting their vineyard’s name on the label. That is, until now. Get ready: the rules have changed, and a new Rioja is about to emerge. In 2018, the Spanish Consejo Regulador took the huge step of opening its classification system to single vineyards. Until then, Rioja’s wine quality had been based solely on a barrel and ageing system that allowed minimal information on the areas of production. This new Viñedo Singular system will lead to major changes within the region for red, white, rosé, and sparkling wines. Let me explain using red wines as an example. In the old system, Rioja wineries could label their wine region by Rioja or one of its three official zones: Rioja Alta, Rioja Alavesa, and Rioja Oriental (Baja originally)—but nothing more regionally specific. In conjunction with the zone, the levels of oak and bottle ageing were used on labels as a marker of quality and categorized as: Crianza, Reserva, and Gran Reserva. Sparkling wines were given the topquality designation Gran Añada. The new law allows the more specific Viñedo Singular of superior quality to be labelled as such, though quite a few 40 Order online: JonesWines.Cornervine.com
criteria must be met before a single vineyard is allowed into the “club.” Vines must be at least 35 years old, yields kept relatively low, and the wines need to pass a tasting panel. In addition, producers must prove they have owned the vineyard for 10 or more years! This change has been longawaited by many producers who value their vineyards and growers. Telmo Rodriguez is one of these producers. The Lanzaga label has always been geared toward single vineyards, and Telmo was so eager to showcase this vineyard, he once got in trouble for including a specific village name on the label. When he visited Winnipeg in 2019, the winemaker explained why he bucked the former labelling system by refusing to include ageing details on his labels: “Putting my wine in barrels doesn’t mean that the fruit is quality. Oak is made to enhance a wine and doesn’t mean a wine is better than one with less oak.” This is why you will never see Joven or Gran Reserva placed on the Telmo Rodriguez brand.
Telmo Rodriguez’s Bodega Lanzaga La Estrada ($128.99), from a small vineyard of only 0.64 hectares, will now be able to showcase the uniqueness of its vineyard right on the label.
