Rioja Rocks - Wines in the Press: Decanter

What we think of as ‘Rioja’ has changed. According to Sarah Jane Evans MW, in her Decanter article The many faces of Rioja, there may be a plethora of styles to choose from, but what today’s Riojas have in common is a modern approach that is producing wines that are more complex and terroir-driven than ever.

To illustrate Rioja’s winemaking ‘new wave’, Evans has produced a list of her ‘Top 25 Riojas’, including Great Western Wine’s Marqués de Riscal Finca Torrea 2007:

Finca Torrea is a wine made from Tempranillo and Graciano grapes sourced from the old vineyards surrounding the Torrea estate, adjacent to the Marqués de Riscal winery. The soil here is the classic clay limestone, typical of Rioja Alavesa, an area that has historically produced the finest Rioja wines. Riscal use French Allier oak casks to age the wine for 18 months, resulting in a more modern, fruity style, with less balsamic notes.

In Evans’ words, this is a “modern approach from a bodega that well combines tradition with innovation. Shorter ageing (18 months in French oak) gives a fruitier, more approachable wine. 17/20”

Marqués de Riscal’s Finca Torrea is brilliant example of a new wave of Rioja winemaking, made by one of the region’s most established and well respected names. It is a wine which perfectly illustrates the fast pace of change that Rioja has seen over the past 30 years:

The many faces of Rioja, Sarah Jane Evans MW, Decanter online, Monday 26 January 2015.

Marqués de Riscal’s Finca Torrea 2007 is available here...

By Chris Penwarden