“If I were not watching my wallet like a starving hawk, I would buy a case or two of this, it’s insanely reasonable for such a haunting thing,” writes Garnett of one of the wines in Tim Atkin MW’s Best of Rioja.
Tim Atkin MW (l) and ‘Spanish Ham Master’, London, February 13, 2024
I opted to attend ‘Tim Atkin’s Best of Rioja’ tasting in the evening, to mine the minds of ticketed consumers. I expected the usual sweaty scrum but there were no tipping and yawing sots eyeing glamourous pourers on this elegant scene. We all sashayed up the magnificent marble staircase of One Great George Street accompanied by the sweet melodic strain of live Spanish guitar.
The only inebriate I met was a friend from Plumpton who rheumy-eyed and somewhat beguiled by sup, had forgotten to leave. At fifty pounds a head for unlimited pours, guitar, and the sweetest Spanish ham courtesy of the UK-based ‘Spanish Ham Master’, the night was a canny buy. The sophisticated clientele knew it; erudite drinkers who see Rioja as the best place in Europe to find exceptional complexity and longevity for under fifty pounds.
I focused predominantly on whites, a smattering of reds and a peony-coloured rosé whose unaffected maker Sandra Bravo from Sierra de Toloño stole my heart. Bhilar aka Struggling Vines, Basilio Izquierdo, Juan Carlos Sancha, Artuke, Remírez de Ganuzza and Pujanza, Remelluri, Telmo, Palacios Remondo, MacRobert & Canals, Baigorri and Hermanos Pecina, all deserve a mention. My notes follow.
Bodegas Bhilar, Phincas Thousand Mils Blanco 2020, 12.5% abv, 70% Viura, 10% Garnacha Blanca, 10% Malvasia. Biodynamic, fermented on the skins so it’s grippy, textural, bitey and moreish. There is honey, earth, yellow apple. almond, ginger, pear and white plum. The Fine Wine Company £16.49
Etérea Kripan, Phinca Hapa Blanco 2021, 14% abv, 82% Viura, 12% Garnacha Blanca, 6% Malvasia. A biodynamic white, made with carbonic maceration. Grown on chalky white limestone up near the Sierra Cantabria mountains, the first and only vineyard above the village at altitude, planted back in the 60s. There is a bitey chalky texture to this sublimely fresh vibrant wine which is layered and textural and unforgettably tangy. It has a distinctive spicy white pepper character and is unctuous with layered honeyed orange and jasmine-scented flavours. Must & Lees £32.00
Rosado Sierra de Toloño 2023, Organic, 11.5% abv. Made from old vines, 60% Tempranillo and 40% Garnacha blended from multiple high-altitude parcels on limestone and clay. Vinified separately for freshness; partially macerated on skins, aged in neutral oak. I loved this easily understood wild strawberry and orange dry cranberry and pith-noted sapid sup. Halfway between red and white, bright peony in colour and alive with happiness. Circa £19.00 Lea and Sandeman
Sierra de Toloño Nahikun Blanco 2022, Organic, 11.5% abv, Viura, Malvasia, Calagroño, Rojal (Malvasia de Rioja) and Garnacha Blanca. A field blend made from minuscule-yielding octogenarian ungrafted vines. Delicate and fragrant with the ghost of jasmine, camphor, green tea, ginger, cinnamon, and yellow apple. Nahukan means ‘big desire’ in the local Basque dialect, an apt name for a tiny production yet it can be found. Circa £45.00 at Lea and Sandeman
Sierra de Toloño La Dula Garnachas de Altura 2022, Organic, 14% abv, 100% Garnacha. Wild ferment, aged in clay amphorae, made from ancient vines on limestone and clay. Fresh, supple and fragrant with dried roses, sweet cherry, blackberry, raspberry and strawberry; it’s mineralic with a moreish bitey bitter savoury tang too. This is a beautiful and moving, elemental thing, one of those wines that feels like poetry. If I were not watching my wallet like a starving hawk, I would buy a case or two of this, it’s insanely reasonable for such a haunting thing. Lea and Sandeman £22.00
Basilio Izquierdo B de Basilio Pieles 2018, 12.5% abv. 70% Viura, 30% Garnacha Blanca. Skin-fermented in amphora and aged in French oak. Gorgeous, bready, waxy, rich and round with an enticing endive bitterness. Sweet aromas of honeyed oranges, clove, high church incense and jasmine serve to conjure exotic fantasies. The Arts Club, RRP tba.
Carlos Sánchez Vinos, Buradón Tinto Las Plegarias 2022, 13.5% 100% Grenache, a complex yet delicate masterpiece – this is what the sophisticates come to Rioja for, you can see the link with fine Burgundy when you taste this light, nuanced, garrigue, rose and lavender-scented, heady mix of succulent cherries and dried wild strawberries. Carte Blanche Wines RRP tba.
Bodegas Mauro Baynos, Blanco de Viura 2021, 12.5% abv, 95% Viura, 5% Malvasia. Organic, 100% Old vines grown on calcareous clay soil. Structured, spicy, fresh and wild with caraway, candied lemon and the golden toastiness of subtle French oak. City Wine Collection RRP tba.
Sierra Cantabria, Victorino 2021, 14.5% abv, 100% Old vine ungrafted Tinta de Toro (Tempranillo), Rad, fresh, spicy, elegant, muscular, and heady with sour cherry and darker fruit vibes. Gorgeously silky tannins. Enotria & Co RRP tba.
CVNE Imperial Reserva Rioja, 2017 14% abv, 85% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano, 5% Mazuelo, aged in both French and American oak. Sour fresh bitey, chewy, dense and rich, a classically classy, gorgeous expression of all that made Rioja great. Deep, dark, chocolatey, dense, lithe and sensuous. Never disappoints. £24.99 Majestic
Artuke La Condenada 2021, 14% abv, 80% Tempranillo, 20% Grenache, Graciano & Palomino or Cazagal (may resemble rather than be Palomino Fino), made from formerly neglected ancient bush vines grown at some altitude, farmed biodynamically and one of many small plots to be farmed by these terroir-obsessed brothers (the sons of Miguel Blanco). New wave Rioja at its very finest; fresh, sapid and fecund with plum, wild herbs, bramble fruit and pith, pretty tannins and ridiculous length. Lea & Sandeman, Justerini & Brooks £84.95
Remírez de Ganuza Blanco Gran Reserva Olagar 2016, 13.5% abv, 70% Old vine high altitude Viura, 20% Malvasia, 10% Garnacha Blanca, planted on calcareous clay soil. Intense zip and freshness peppered with toasted almond, stone, yeast, candied lemon and a super sapid razor finish. Exquisite. Bibendum.com £70.00
B0degas Y Viñedos, Pujanza Añadas Frias 2021, 13.5% abv, 100% Viura, aged in French oak and concrete. Carlos San Pedro’s Añadas Frias is only made in cool years, has an electric acidity, a salty lemony sapid freshness and a gorgeous caraway and tangerine tinged tannic mouth feel. Beguiling. Gourmet Hunters £94.44
Remelluri Blanco 2020, 14% abv. Telmo Rodrìguez’s alluring wild ferment, terroir-focused organic field blend of some nine white varieties (No Viura and details of others purposely vague) is full-bodied, ripe and enticingly complex with gingery pear, toasted almond, lemon, salty stone and garrigue. Highbury Vintners £84.50
Bodega Lanzaga, El Velado 2020, 14.5% abv. Over 50% Old vine Tempranillo, 40% Garnacha and 5% indigenous white. Telmo Rodriguez’s mind-blowingly heady mix of crushed dried garrigue and thyme, sapid red cherries, spiced plums and cranberries with a hint of salty minerality. Sublime. Hedonism £90.00
Palacios Remondo, La Montesa 2020, 14% abv, 90% Grenache, 10% indigenous reds. Sweet cherry, dried strawberry and fragrant dried garrigue, petals and forest floor, a deliciously enticing silky, chalky lusciously structured red. Amazing value. Berry Brothers and Rudd £18.95
MacRobert & Canals Laventura Viura 2022, 12%. 100% Dry farmed, old vine Viura grown at altitude and barrel fermented by Saffer Bryan Robert, Eben Sadie’s protege. Leesy, herbal and round, lifted by invigorating lemon and fragrant camelia. Graft £20.00
Bodegas Baigorri Blanco Fermentado BCA 2020, 14% abv. 95% Viura, 5% Malvasia, old vines grown at altitude. Round and creamy, French oak-aged and heady with honey, lemon, yellow apple and zest. Bibendum RRP tba.
Hermanos Peciña, ‘Finca Iscorta’ de Peciña 2015, 15% abv, Wild ferment, single vineyard, old vines. Tempranillo, Grenache and Graciano. Intense, ripe yet fresh, tangy, and complex with leather, black cherry, spice, moist cigar, dark chocolate and toffee. Round and weighty, it is harmoniously replete. Justerini & Brooks RRP tba.
