Arizcuren Rioja Sologarnacha 2020

Region: Rioja, Spain

Grape Variety: Garnacha

Javier Arizcuren was very unhappy. We were standing in his premier vineyard, located in the remote Sierra de Yerga mountains of southern Rioja, and as we walked among the vines, we kept finding clusters of unpicked grapes. To understand his frustration you should know that the vines were planted by his grandfather and at roughly 90 years old, each only produces the equivalent of a half of a bottle of wine. He pointed out that the clusters he carried in his hands would be enough to fill a bottle, and since he only produces a few thousand bottles of this wine it easy to understand his frustration. Back at his tasting room in Quel we watched someone get an ear full, after that he seemed pretty happy.

The tasting with Javier was initially pretty funny, as nine of us crammed around a small, round dinner table where we spread out notebooks, and in my case, a laptop. Arizcuren started by showing us an arial map of his vineyards taken in 1956, contrasted with one taken recently. In the older map there were vineyards rolling down the mountain, broken by areas of heavy woods. In the modern picture it was apparent that most of the vineyards are now fallow. Coincidentally, earlier in our trip we tasted with Juan Carlos Sancha, a winemaker and professor at the University of Madrid, who pointed out that in 1912 there were 44 official varieties used in Rioja. Today, there are only 7 varieties and 3 of them represent 97% of the total red wine production. The point both men made was that as Rioja has grown in prestige, they have lost some of the individuality that made the region famous in the first place. The tasting would prove how.

All of Javier’s wines are produced from vineyards in the region that used to be called Rioja Baja, but a few years ago they rebranded as Rioja Oriental, denoting that they are the eastern most sub-zone. The reputation of this area was one of primarily bulk wines, often produced with high percentages of Garnacha blended with the more commercially appealing Tempranillo. Funnily enough, when we were walking along his Garnacha vines in the Sierra de Yerga, we skipped right over his Tempranillo vines, still covered with grapes, because he sells them off and the buyer had not picked them yet.

Some of you may be surprised this is a Rioja that is entirely Garnacha, from those old vines from the Sierra de Yerga. Javier destemmed the grapes then fermented in stainless steel. Once dry, the wine is moved to 400 and 500 liter French oak casks where it undergoes malolactic conversion and aging for 12 months.

Decant this wine for up to an hour and then prepare for a mind bend. The nose of muddled strawberries, raspberry jam, candied orange peel, jasmine, dried black figs, herbs de Provence and iodine might lead you to the Southern Rhone of France. Then on the palate this wine shows the difference with a tighter focus and despite the 15% alcohol it seems less heavy. There are still fairly obvious tannins so you will want to hold this one back, best for drinking 2024-2029.