During the Davy’s portfolio tasting, Bodegas Ochoa ran a masterclass of its range of wines, as many have undergone recent changes. The family winery is based in Navarra, Spain, and has been going for 180 years.
The vineyards cover 140 hectares with an arid and Mediterranean climate, close to the Atlantic and the Bardenas Desert. It lies 340-365m above sea level and the soils are calcareous clay with gravel. More recently, the winery has been innovating using regenerative viticulture and natural yeast selection to protect the soils and ensure future sustainability for the vineyards.
This year, led by sisters Adriana and Beatriz Ochoa, the winery has undergone a rebrand to write a ‘new chapter’ in its history. Its focus is on innovating to meet present demands without getting tied up with tradition and the past. The new slogan ‘AHORA. AQUÍ. SIEMPRE.’ (NOW. HERE. FOREVER.) represents three different ranges of the wines. It outlines this focus on the present and the future, based on values of resilience, tradition, honesty, friendship and joy. The logo of two wolves (Ochoa is wolf in Basque) has been changed from looking from the past to the future.
CEO Beatriz Ochoa led us through a selection of wines which reflect these values.
The ‘NOW’ range
Blanco Lías 2024
The theme of this wine is ‘resilience’ due to the situation of the vineyards next to the Bardenas Desert. The extreme climate and early harvesting enhance the acidity and aromatics of the grapes. The wine has floral and white fruit aromas and spends four months on the lees before bottling. Made up of 70% Chardonnay and 30% Viura, this blend is full and fresh on the palate.
Rosado de Lágrima 2024
This rosé is 40% Garnacha, 40% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon made using the traditional ‘sangrado’ method, where the grapes are lightly crushed, releasing the ‘lágrima’ (tears in English). This juice remains in contact with the skins for 4-6 hours, before being fermented in stainless steel vats at 18°C. This wine is themed ‘tradition’ due to this traditional method and produces a medium colour rosé. It is fruity but dry and nicely balanced. It is gastronomic, demonstrating a rosé's versatility with food: Beatriz’s suggestions being vegetable dishes, seafood and salads.
Tinto Nude 2023
This wine has changed in its style from previous years. Completely unoaked, it is Ochoa’s purest expression of the Tempranillo grapes and the vineyard, where the viticulture is focused on biodiversity and minimal intervention. It is fermented with native yeasts in stainless steel tanks and no additives are used. It is aged for a short period to slightly soften the tannins and produces a light-bodied fresh and herbaceous red wine with notes of rosemary and lavender. This wine is themed as ‘honesty’, the purity of the terroir and the fruit, reflected in its name.
Crianza Origen 2021
This blend undertakes the theme of ‘friendship’, the reasoning behind why the family produces wine, stemming from the grandfather making a special wine for his friends every year. With 40% Tempranillo, 25% Garnacha, 20% Merlot and 15% Graciano, the four different grapes encapsulate four different unique personalities. It is balanced with fruit, freshness and colour with a medium body and aged in American and French oak. It is a versatile wine, suited for different food and for different people.
The ‘FOREVER’ range
Gran Reserva 2015
Made by their father Javier Ochoa, this Gran Reserva is a blend of 60% Tempranillo, 30% Merlot and 10% Cabernet Sauvignon from a particularly good vintage. It is aged for 24 months, the Tempranillo in new American oak and the Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon in French. It has soft tannins, is complex and smoky with a rich fruity depth. Having already spent six to seven years ageing in the bottle, it has the capacity to age for years longer.
Gran Reserva 2018
The same blend, but made three years later by the sisters, this Gran Reserva has more black fruit flavour than the 2015 vintage. It is bright, crunchy and fresh, and uses a blend of French and Eastern European oak. The wine is too young now but has the ageing potential for a possible 15 more years.
Moscatel
Moscatel Vendimia Tardia 2023
The Muscat Blanc à Petit Grains grapes are harvested late to concentrate the sugars, aromas and acidity. Raisins are also picked and added to the juice. It is fermented in stainless steel with indigenous yeast and aged for 9 months in 225L 2–3-year-old oak barrels followed by a year in bottle. It is full bodied and has tropical aromas of lychee and pineapple with an abv of 15% and is described as having 'the ability to evolve without losing its essence’. This wine is part of the ‘HERE’ range.
Moscato de Ochoa MdO 2022
This new wine provides an alternative use for the Moscatel grape due to the declining popularity of sweet wines. To retain the heritage of Moscatel in the area, the estate has produced a dry and low abv wine of 5.5%, appealing to the trend towards lowering alcohol consumption. It is aged for 6 months on the lees in a concrete egg and has some residual sugar. It is very aromatic with elderflower notes, lighter-bodied, crisp and refreshing. It is part of the ‘NOW’ range and is based on the theme of ‘joy’.
It is inspiring to see Beatriz and her sister Adriana leading the next generation of winemaking, unafraid to leave tradition to establish their future using clever branding and innovations within the vineyards to produce some fantastic wines.
