Spain Part VI: Rioja Day 1 (part 1 of 2) – Contino

In theory, driving from San Sebastian to Rioja Alavesa should have been a breeze. Maybe an hour and a half drive on the AP-1, a bit longer with traffic. Well, theory did not prevail on Tuesday June 3, as Natalie and I spent the better part of three hours stuck in traffic on a regional road, due to one of two possible factors: 1.) A partial closure of the highway without any way to get back on or 2.) A partial closure of the highway with posted signage that I completely ignored or failed to understand. The latter is most probable. Anyway, we arrived considerably late for our appointment at Contino with winemaker Jesus Madrazo and export director Jose Luis Ripa. They were nice, but I was really upset with myself – I mean who likes being late, let alone a few hours late? Anyway, after introductions were made and a brief history of the estate were recited, all frustrations slowly dissipated as we descended down into the Contino cellars.

Here’s a brief history of Contino. Founded in 1973, the result of a partnership between the owner of a terrific vineyard site and the ownership of Cune, Contino is the oldest single estate bottled Rioja of the Rioja Alavesa. Their 68 hectares are very well situated close to the Rio Ebro, just outside of a small village named Laserna and proximate to the beautiful medieval, hilltop town of Laguardia.

As it relates to modern-day Rioja, Contino is quite significant for two reasons: 1.) Jesus Madrazo’s firm belief in the importance of the Graciano grape, which has a significant 10-15% role in their wines, as well as comprising the outstanding Graciano varietal bottlings 2.) The winery’s undeniable ability to make a fruit forward, modern style of Rioja that has enough balance and acidity to appeal to most classicists (including such experienced Spanish wine authorities as Gerry Dawes and Manuel Camblor, amongst others).

Jesus Madrazo is an eloquent defender of Graciano. As the joke goes, many in Rioja refer to this varietal as ‘gracias, no,’ or ‘no thanks,’ due to the fact that it’s temperamental and tricky to grow. When not properly ripened (which historically can occur quite often) the flavors are no good. But it’s arguably an essential element to Rioja blends, as shown by Lopez de Heredia and Muga, amongst others who always make sure to include Graciano in their reservas. It also makes for a tasty, interesting mono-varietal wine (see Viña Ijalba). My experience with good bottlings of varietal Graciano is that they hide their 14% alcohol quite well, since they show great natural acidity and remarkably pure, focused blue fruits. Perhaps this is why a Contino Reserva, even at 14.5% alcohol, can still retain a sense of elegance and freshness on the palate.

For some more detailed information on Contino’s history as well as winemaking, see this terrific article from Gerry Dawes (you’ll have to scroll down from the Roda portion of the article). Below are a few tasting notes from my visit at Contino:

2004 Contino Rioja Reserva
14.5% alcohol barely registers. Aged in 3, 4 and 8 year-old oak (French, American, and a small portion of Hungarian). My notes read, “fresh, primary red fruits,” though the 'red' also looks as though I were saying 'real.' I'm pretty sure I meant 'red,' but 'real' would be apt as well. This wine is a real joy to drink, and for near-term consumption is my favorite of this line-up.

2005 Contino Viña del Olivo
While the reserva has 10% Graciano, this wine, produced largely from a tempranillo vineyard surrounding a 1,000 year-old olive tree, ratchets up the proportion to 15%. There is more mixed berry fruit on the nose and more obvious oak influence (which would make sense – if memory serves this wine is typically fermented and aged in a combination of French and American oak, most of it new, for 12-14 months). Blackberry and vanilla flavors predominate on the palate, with some oak derived spice on the finish. Somehow, with all the power and intensity, this wine still maintains a relative sense of lightness in the mouth. No overly extracted fruit or harsh wood tannins here.

2005 Contino Graciano
At first very muted on the nose, it becomes quite floral, as is Graciano's (at least the ones I've drunk) tendency. Very pure blue and dark fruits on the palate. This wine needs at least five years to develop. As a matter of fact, Jesus told me that he recently conducted a vertical tasting of this wine for a group of sommeliers in San Sebastian. And the 2001 Graciano I tasted six or so months ago was quite tasty indeed.

Spain - Photo's of Day 1-4

A few photo's from the first leg of my trip to Spain. Top to bottom, left to right: Jeff Koons' puppy sculpture, created from flowers and ferns, Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao; closeup of Juan Muñoz bronze sculpture, Guggenheim; Richard Serra steel installation, Guggenheim; tomb in the Catedral de Leon; detail of facade, Catedral de Leon; a navigator's vans, napsack and newspaper, Galicia; Angel Rodriguez of Bodega Martinsancho, with their first new style verdejo vintage bottling - 1981; Pile of trash at closing time on the floor of Vino Tinto, Valladolid. Photo's courtesy of Natalie.

Spain Pt. IV - Leon and Pilgrimmagers, Mencia and Ribeira Sacra; Lost in Galicia

Pilgrimmagers. Say it, it's fun. It is one of the few instances where I prefer an english word to its Spanish counterpart, peregrinos. Leon is a major hub along the most popular route of the Camino de Santiago, or the pilgrimmage which tens of thousands make (mainly by foot) every year from the French side of the Pyrenees through Spain's northern interior and all the way to Santiago de Compostela. A lot of walking, to be sure. Most of the people I saw trudging along above the national road leading out of Leon, young and old, often times of Germanic descent, usually with a large pack and a walking stick, seemed to hold a steady, deliberate pace. They were getting there, but their gait and expressions spoke of significantly more work ahead.

I hope that these pilgrimmagers spent at least a day, and ideally a couple of days, to rest up, refuel and take in the beautiful city of Leon. There is the famous cathedral, whose walls are adorned by so many beautiful windows of stained glass that it's easy to forget the other beautiful facets of this gothic cathedral. I'm not an architecture buff, and extensive gothic cathedral visits in Spain have left me slightly jaded, but this one is a stunner. There is the Casa Botines, an early Gaudi apartment building. The old city, its plazas, narrow stone roads (far more enjoyably explored by foot, not by car) and bars are where the action lies. There were delicious potatoes. One night cubed, fried, and served with a creamy, garlicky aioli (free when ordering a drink!). The next morning, sliced thinly (slightly thicker than thick cut potato chips) and fried to perfection, served with a caña of beer (or even more typical, with a 'corta,' a short 6oz pour - don't knock it America, sometimes you're better off with a smaller amount of beer). The pimientos de padron here, my first experience with the famous eponymously named Galician peppers from the village of Padron, were the best I would have the entire trip. They lived up to the great Calvin Trillin's billing of providing serious heat, but only 1-2% of the time. My hot one, though, was plenty hot. It gave me hiccoughs; to combat them I drank some beer and nibbled on more tortilla as well as some jamon iberico. The photo of me wagging a finger is immediately after consuming a blazing hot pimiento.

I give the pilgrimmagers lots of respect, because getting an 8am start on Saturday morning was not easy, and I had the benefit of a car, fresh, dry clothes, clean shoes, a smart, pretty lady friend navigator, and a destination just a few hours away: the beautiful Ribera Sacra.

We passed through the incredibly green, slatey, steep countryside of Bierzo, through Valdeorras (land of Godello) to the even more incredibly green, steeper countryside of Ribeira Sacra. Here we stopped at Adegas Algueira for a quick tasting. They were nice to squeeze in this meeting, as they were preparing for an on-site wedding that night (they also run a restaurant next to the winery). All the wines, white and red, oaked and unoaked, are fermented with indigenous yeasts and made from fruit on their own 8 hectares of vineyards. The '06 Algueira Blanco is a crisp, delicious blend of Godello, albariño and treixadura. Nothing to cerebral, just a dry white wine with good fruit intensity nice mineral accents and a clean finish. Their '06 Blanco Roble, produced from the same blend of grapes, is fermented and aged in new french oak. While proprietor Fernando Gonzalez Riveiro says it needs a few years in bottle, I say once it's this oaky it will never be al estilo mio. Now to the main event here, the reds from Mencia. The '07 Ribeira Sacra was vibrant bitter cherry Mencia fruit, tasty. The '06 Algueira Roble is a gorgeous wine. Aged for 12 months in new French oak, but with a suppleness of body, liveliness of acidity and fruit intensity that were all in terrific balance. Spanish red wines grown in slate and aged in new oak don't always have to be 14.5%, oaky, new wave gold plated trophy wines. This was 12.5% and a real steal, part of the building body of evidence that Ribeira Sacra has a lot ahead for lovers of lively mid weight reds; even the staunchest of francophile wine geeks who try these wines would have to agree.

We thanked Ana and Fernando and headed west towards Rias Baixas. Unfortunately, an afternoon visit with Do Ferreiro was not meant to be. We ended up in Vigo, a beautiful city with San Francisco style hills, a gorgeous harbor, and what appeared to be lots of cool stuff going on, but alas it was very far away from where we needed to be. Do Ferreiro's hometown of Meaño was nowhere to be seen on the map, and attempts to get more specific directions over the phone yielded no results. I felt terrible to have missed the appointment, which coupled with the poor cell phone reception made me reluctant to call and explain that we were unable to make it. Oh well, when on the wine route these things sometimes happen; hopefully I will one day get to Do Ferreiro and when I do it will be with a good bottle of California wine in hand as a make good for my prior no-show.

As we headed back east towards Leon, I noticed that the sunset was coming to a lazy close at 10:15pm. It was a long day, with the usual frustrations of road trips in a foreign country. But we had also seen and accomplished much: we saw one of Spain's most beautiful vine growing areas, tasted terrific Ribeira Sacra, ate caldo gallego and tasty round Galican bread, observed the typical gardens with their large, collard like greens, potatoes and vines trellised high above the ground. We even witnessed a huge bike rally in Moaña. All on a surprisingly sunny, warm Galician day, the only full day of sunshine for the twelve days we would be in Spain.

Spain Part III: Old Cellars and New Barriques at Valduero (Ribera del Duero)

Ribera del Duero has unfortunately become all but a lost cause for lovers of authenticity, typicity, and a sense of regionally specific flavors in Spanish wines. As I understand it, not only did Ribera del Duero become the first Spanish region to gain a boost from critics in the infancy of Spain's export boom in the 1980's, but the region was also a key reason why so many people 150 miles away in Rioja began to reconsider how they made their wine, emphasizing ripeness and new French barriques over subtlety and the more traditional American oak. Show me a current release of Ribera del Duero, and I will more than likely point to ripe blackberry flavors, sweet vanilla and/or coffee flavors derived from new french oak, and an overriding sense of anonymity. Vega Sicilia, which I have still yet to taste, would be a notable exception, from what I hear. It is the wine that put Ribera del Duero on the map and, according to anyone fortunate enough to have tasted it, amongst the finest in the world. Alejandro Fernandez's wines have also proven to have plenty of character and repeatedly show characteristics specific to his wines. Not bad for a company that produces 500,000 cases of wine, but that's another post for another day. This post is supposed to be about Bodegas Valduero.

Located in Gumiel del7 Mercado (just 10km outside of Arranda del Duero) and due to my lack of familiarity with Castilla y Leon, a real tough one to find, Bodegas Valduero has been producing wine since 1984. Yolanda Garcia Viadero, the original owner along with her winemaker husband (he makes wine in Rioja), still makes the wine here. They make a rosado, crianza, reserva, a separate reserva aged for 6 years, and gran reserva. Though I wouldn't describe these wines as traditional, there seems to still be a liveliness to the acidity, a nuance of oak flavor that comes from aging in a combination of French, American, and eastern european oak, which separates these wines from most of the pack in Ribera del Duero. We tasted the following:

2007 Valduero Sobresaliehnte '9 degrees'
Cool wine, here! Produced from the rare white Albarillo grape, this was conceived as a wine to be marketed as low in alcohol, low in calories (less than an apple, according to the back label) and perfect for lunchtime drinking. I am not sure that I agree with the low calorie marketing approach, but I do think the low alcohol one makes sense in today's world of big, bad, high alcohol wines. Most importantly, this wine works. There is a muscat like orange blossom and grapeyness here, with fresh acidity and terrific balance. It reminds me of an unoaked white from Penedes. Tasty.

2006 La Uve Toro Joven
"Uh-oh," I thought, I need to taste a wine from one of my least favorite regions in Spain, a region whose wines are pumped up with ridiculous amounts of new french oak, and somehow not say that it sucks in front of my gracious host. Valduero started producing wines in Toro in 1998. Thankfully, they have a different approach to this wine, one which highlights the natural fruitiness of tempranillo that grows in this warmer, drier region. Deep cherry and dark fruit flavors maintain their freshness with decent acidity, and a mouthfeel that it is not at all overly heavy or thick.

2005 Arbucala Toro

Valduero toasts their own barrels, and in this case the toasting seems to be quite thorough. A big, chewy, dark fruited, simple wine. Sure it's a young wine, but I don't see it ever becoming something I would want to drink. I tried to drink a bottle over the course of a few days in Priorat and Barcelona, and just couldn't do it. Though each time the nose of the wine did transport me to the barrel room of any modern red wine producer in Napa, Bordeaux, Rioja, Ribera del Duero, take your pick...

2005 Valduero Crianza

Black cherries and an overall drier, less sweet smell than the Toro leads to a big palate of chewy dark fruit. Young and teetering on the edge of too ripe/oaky for my tastes, but somehow I hold out more hope for this wine than the above.

2004 Valduero Reserva

Very intense, classic Ribera dark fruits, but with Tempranillo's acidity displaying itself, and the cut of the 2004 vintage as well.

2001 Valduero Premium Reserva '6 años'

Aged for 36 months 'en barrica' and another three years in bottle (hence the '6 años' label), this could technically be called a gran reserva. The use of oak aging in this wine, however extensive, does not at all overpower the incredibly intense fruit. One to cellar for a while, at least for 5 years and ideally longer.

1991 Valduero Gran Reserva

It was cool to see how these wines age. The reserva and gran reserva wines are amongst Valduero's most traditional, and they age in the 17th century underground cellar as opposed to their new hilllside facility. The wine was elegant but firm, with some good years ahead of it. Very developed on the nose, with mocha and roasted meat, amongst other aromas I did not catch (we needed to hurry a bit to finish the tour). It was much more primary and fruity than I would have imagined, with suave, but present, tannins. I imagine it would have changed significantly in the glass over time if we were to have a few hours with the wine.

Along with the wines we were served some local specialties: a delcious manchego from Yolanda's brother's farm, murcilla (blood sausage with prominent cumin seasoning and in this Burgos version, short grained rice), lechazo (suckling lamb, sort of the veal of the lamb world) and even a delicious salad (tough to come by in many parts of Spain, where salad is often chopped iceberg lettuce topped with a square of tuna).

Thank you Roger for your hospitality and patience with my poor directional sense!

Spain Pt. II: Morning with the Master of Verdejo

Bodega Martinsancho has been in Angel Rodriguez' family for multiple generations, dating back to 1780. Located in the tiny village of La Seca, within the Rueda D.O., Martinsancho makes what I consider to be the most authentic, tastiest, most honest Verdejo around form their own 60 hectares of vines. Given the huge amount of thirst quenching, but simple, verdejo in the market (often blended with viura or sauvignon blanc and produced with innoculated yeast), the real deal is a breath of fresh air. I would not include the fancy verdejos aged in barrique and bottled in heavy bottles with large punts amongst the real deal, by the way. Angel Rodriguez eschews stainless steal and barrique maturation, instead favoring large cubas of old oak (not sure of the size, at least 2000 liters from the looks of them, maybe bigger). His vineyard is the stoniest in the entire region, the average vine age is 44 years, and these two factors, according to Angel, are what make his wines so special. I would agree, and add that he lets the raw material do the talking, not messing around with artificial yeasts, excessively cool fermentations, or any other such techniques currently in vogue with white wine production. As a result his wines age beautifully. One of my favorites of what we tasted was his 2002, which was lively, full of yellow stone fruit and some emerging quince notes, a bit similar to dry Loire Chenin with a touch of bottle age. Beautiful wine. Try saving a bottle of any other rueda for 5+ years and let me know how it works out. Another older bottle, the 1981, was phenomenal. More mineral, greater intensity and tropicality, and still that vibrant acidity. As for the current release, the 2007, it shows verdejo's trademark gentle peach and honeydew melon flavors, with a mineral backbone and loads of freshness. It is a bit compact and should flesh out nicely with another several months in bottle.

Angel was exceedingly generous, inviting us to pick any bottles which we wanted to try from his cellar. When I asked him about the old style, solera-made, sherry-like wine the region used to produce, he had his assistant fetch an example from the cellar. 76 year-old verdejo from cask (unfortified, mind you) and it was incredibly interesting. Near palo cortado type flavors, with a little less power and weight, and a slight rancio character that brought vinsanto to mind. Delicious and as it is one of two such examples left in Rueda (Angel thought another family might have some, but was not sure), on the verge of extinction.

Below is a visual documentation of the experience, photography by Natalie Luney.