Rioja: Reimagining Gran Reserva

They say you can tell when you’re getting older because policemen start looking younger. I can’t say I’ve noticed. What I have noticed is that Rioja gran reservas are looking younger. Not just looking younger, but tasting younger too. Frankly, many seem to be reservas masquerading as gran reservas. The tasting accompanying this feature only confirmed it. So too did our 2020 Decanter World Wine Awards tasting. Plenty of amiably juicy youngsters, some with distinctly tight tannins, many with showy fruit, belying the vintage shown on the label. But gran reserva, really? [subscriber-content]I have been asking around and the response from producers, consumers and sommeliers alike is the same. The GRs are looking younger. Some certainly prefer this younger, reserva-like release, but not all are so keen. One friend who took part in a recent blind tasting of the category reported: ‘There were many excellent wines, intense, clean, fresh... but they weren’t great gran reservas. They lacked sophistication and complexity, roundness, delicacy and elegance. Maybe some of them will become great gran reservas, but many of them will never get that far.’ That’s a great definition of a Rioja gran reserva. I’d add that I love the penetrating line of acidity, the mid-weight palate, the fine tannins, the alluring colour of a maturing wine. These aren’t characteristics you will find in the regulations, though. Red Rioja gran reservas are simply defined as ‘wines of great vintages that have been painstakingly aged for a total of 60 months [five years], with at least two years in oak barrels [of 225 litres] and two years in bottle’. For the white gran reservas, ‘the minimum ageing period is four years, with at least six months in barrels’. Time and again critics pointed out to me that it is not enough to define gran reserva by its age and its maturation container. To be fair, quality – as in ‘great vintages’ – is also a requirement. Consumer appeal What are the reasons for the shift in style? Is it down to climate change, or a (very understandable) desire to earn revenue faster by releasing wine with the minimum bottle age? Or are viticulture and winemaking evolving to cater for the consumer liking for fruitier, fleshy wines? It wasn’t always easy for gran reserva, remembers Guillermo de Aranzabal, chairman of La Rioja Alta SA. ‘In the “dark” gran reserva years, 15 years ago or so, it’s true that the UK was the main – and sometimes the only – faithful customer for gran reservas. UK critics have always valued this style of wine, now defended by everybody. Back then, it was just you and some of your colleagues. No Americans, no Spanish, no one from Asia.’ Today, however, gran reserva is seeing a renaissance. Sales of red gran reservas in Spain were up 27% in 2019 compared with 2018. Gran reserva remains more popular outside Spain: exports account for two-thirds of sales, although they did fall 9% over the same period. One of the explanations put forward to me was climate change. It’s a benefit, says Isaac Muga of Bodegas Muga, because ‘we can increasingly reach optimum ripeness in the higher altitude vineyards that we use for sourcing our gran reserva grapes’. At Remírez de Ganuza, José Ramon Urtasun explains that one effect of climate change in Rioja’s warmer zones is to deliver wines that are higher in alcohol and lower in acidity. This potentially gives them greater commercial appeal. But, he points out, there is a downside to making the wines more approachable when young: ‘You have to pick the grapes more mature, with lower acidity and higher pH – at 4.0 rather than 3.2 – [which means] the wines will not age so well.’ A modern style Remírez de Ganuza is a relative newbie in the history of gran reserva. It made its mark in the late 1990s with a more modern style. One of the factors that sets the wines apart as a modern classic today is their barrel ageing. The winery uses the regulation 225-litre barrel, yes, but it’s made of new French oak. Surely gran reserva is all about American oak? Yes and no. Muga, who selects French oaks for other wines in the Muga portfolio, knows a good forest when he sees one. He has strong preferences: ‘I’ve never been convinced by the best-known American oaks, Kentucky and Missouri, given that they are typically used for bourbon. I prefer other origins, such as those around New York.’ He chooses French oak for wines that are drunk younger. ‘It expresses its potential in its first five to six years. American oak is more “rustic” in young wines, but once it’s over that hurdle I really like it for its more controlled release of aromatics.’ American oak may be more traditional, but in general, it’s not the nationality of the barrel that differentiates one of these young-seeming gran reservas. Murrieta’s Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Especial is a mix of French and American. Grape variety plays a role, for sure. Many releases nowadays are 100% Tempranillo, which, with its lower acidity, can be more appealing. Garnacha’s generosity is not favoured for long ageing, but when it’s young it has that real charm that can make it a welcome addition to a younger style. The classics, especially in the Rioja Alta zone, contain doses of the crunchier Graciano and Mazuelo to add backbone and acidity to wines for long ageing. Clearly identifiable A gran reserva should be a rare beast, given that it is produced only in the best years. At López de Heredia, guardians of a family tradition, the gran reservas are aged for eight years in barrel and eight years in bottle, something that has only happened a little more than 20 times since 1890. These wines are very clearly identifiable, as is CVNE’s Imperial Gran Reserva, which is made just down the road. Victor Urrutia, the fifth generation of the family and CVNE group CEO, argues that with gran reservas of any worth, it’s the house style that defines them. Talking through the styles of the group’s wineries, he explains: ‘I’d say our gran reservas are “fuller” – more concentrated than other traditional gran reservas, which might be lighter, more vinous. Imperial is a bit leaner, with higher acidity, perfumed, velvet. Smells like a gothic cathedral.’ ‘Is the shift in style down to climate change? Or a (very understandable) desire to earn revenue faster by releasing wine with the minimum bottle age?’ Contino, which first made gran reserva in the 1990s, has some Viura in the blend. According to Urrutia: ‘It’s a classic Rioja Alavesa blend, it adds acidity and freshness. This wine has the concentration and precision you would expect from a single vineyard.’ Then there’s Viña Real. ‘It’s more gastronomic, headier. It has always had a slightly higher percentage of Garnacha and this adds some warmth to the wine.’ CVNE is not immune to the trend for younger-seeming gran reservas, as it is soon to release its Garnacha-enriched Viña Real Gran Reserva 2014. ‘It is a young wine,’ Urrutia admits, ‘but I have to say I love the fruit in our gran reservas when they are young. The complexity is not yet there, but the wine is so flattering it’s a pleasure to drink.’ Point taken. Across the road, La Rioja Alta has stepped into the same market with the release of its Viña Arana 2014 as a gran reserva (it always qualified, but was never labelled as such). The winery has recognised that gran reservas have much greater appeal, their reputation as venerable wines enjoyed by traditional drinkers obscuring their ‘vibrant, tasty and elegant’ character. The intention here is explicit: Viña Arana is ‘intended for a new generation of young wine lovers, eager to discover and enjoy traditional-style Riojas adapted to new trends.’ With this launch, the 150-year-old winery has moved boldly into social media with a new slogan: ‘Gran Reserva Attitude, Viña Arana Attitude, #GRattitude’. Not sure about that as a hashtag, but #fullmarksforeffort. [/subscriber-content] Rioja gran reservas: Evans selects 10 to try [wine-collection]

PREMIUM

Rioja: Reimagining Gran Reserva

Rioja gran reservas: Evans selects 10 to try

Latest Wine News

A Spectacular Day at the 27th DFWE London

Scotch producer claims Guinness World Record for ‘The Greatest Variety of Flavours in a Whisky’

French protests: Growers block motorway and hijack lorries containing Spanish wine

Baudains: Are old vines important?

Trump returns: The impact on the US wine industry

Latest Premium Content

Rare Champagne masterclass: DFWE London 2024

Château Cantenac Brown: Margaux’s latest rising star

Château Lafite and Long Dai masterclass: DFWE Singapore 2024

Roederer: A lifetime of rosé Champagne

Sicily Report 2024: Etna’s golden opportunity