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Like a craggy man with a soft spot for babies, this classic, elegant Rioja has brooding nature that’s tempered by a surprisingly sweet disposition. Brandied cherry, fresh rain-spattered earth, exotic spices and intriguing minerality make up the wine’s profile, but that list doesn’t give an adequate sense to the wine’s sinuous complexity, lissome balance and remarkably long-lasting finish. A wine that flows across the palate like silk, this ’01 Rioja is drinking for the next two decades.
- Country: Spain
- Region: Rioja
- Subregion: La Rioja Alta
- Commune/Village: Haro
One of the true founders of traditional Rioja. The Bodega was formed in 1890 as a partnership of 5 quality-conscious growers keen to exploit the export potential for well-made, ‘modern’ Rioja. At this time, French vineyards were ravaged by phylloxera, and connoisseurs had to look elsewhere for supplies of fine wine. Rioja, with its excellent climate and soils, had already attracted attention, and experiments with Bordeaux-style vinification and barrique-aging were proving very successful. The region’s only real disadvantage was its remoteness, cut off from the lucrative markets to the north by the same mountains that ensured its favorable climate. This problem was solved by construction of the rail link to Bilbao, and it is no coincidence that Bodegas La Rioja Alta was established next to the Haro railway station in the same year it opened.
It is not traditional in the Rioja for the great bodegas to own vineyards, but La Rioja Alta currently has 300 hectares in order to control and secure grapes of the highest quality, most of them in the subareas of Rioja Alta and Rioja Alavesa. The maximum production of the vineyards is 20% lower than the authorized production in La Rioja, increasing the quality of the grapes. The vineyards are planted on Clay-Marl soil.
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