SPAIN

BODEGA AKUTAIN, JON PEÑAGARICANO, DOCa RIOJA

Despite already working with six wineries from Rioja, we could not resist adding Bodega Akutain  to our portfolio – for their wines reminded us why  we have fallen in love with this region in the first place!

Akutain is a small, family owned bodega, situated in the higher (500 – 650m) parts of Rioja Alta – four kilometres west of the historic town of Haro. It is currently run by Jon Peñagaricano who continues the work of his father Juan Jose Peñagaricano Akutain.

BAck in 1975, Juan Jose planted his first vines here, converting an  old barn into a small winery and the underground cellar.

What sets Akutains apart, is that all their wines are made with the grapes grown by themselves. The family works just 6.5 hectares of vines, planted on limestone rich soil, and spread across four plots surrounding the winery. The wines are fermented with natural yeast in fiberglass tanks and aged in used American oak barrels. Additional ageing follows in the underground cellar before release.

The production is small and until now Akutain remained a “hidden gem” of Rioja Alta – completely off the radar of the wine critiques. In some way this made us appreciate this traditional “grower” style Rioja even more!

OLIVIER RIVIERE, DOCa RIOJA

Olivier Rivière, a native of Cognac, studied enology in Montagne St-Emilion, worked biefrly with Elian Da Ros in Côtes-du-Marmandais, then at Domaine Leroy in Vosne- Romanée. His main interest there was to learn about biodynamic methods. He went on to Domaine de Chassorney in St-Romain to see how unsulfited wines are made, then spent two years managing the now defunct Domaine de la Combe in Pommard. His grapes come from three types of soils: the Graciano vines and part of the Tempranillo for the bottling of Rayos Uva grow on alluvial soils, sandy with round stones; the old vines Garnacha (65 to 90 years) that go into Ganko grow on red soil, with marl and sand coloured by ferrous oxides, at an altitude of 600 meters in Rioja Alta; the best Tempranillo vines (25 years old) are in Rioja Alavesa, on clay and limestone soils at 650 meters. Altitude is extremely important to Rivière, the cool nights keep acidity in the grapes, so he can make much fresher wines than most in the region.

RAFAEL LÓPEZ DE HEREDIA, DOCa RIOJA

Founded in 1877 by Rafael López de Heredia, the great grandfather of the currents owners, this is one of the first three wineries created in Rioja and the oldest one in Haro. Many conditions must have been fulfilled for López de Heredia wines to achieve their superlative status, making them live on in memory of those who have tasted them. The character of their wines is influenced by the climate, soil, attentive work in the vineyards,  as well as the ultra-traditional winemaking and care during the lengthy period of ageing in old American oak barrels and in the bottles. During over 140 years of its existence the winery saw fashions come and go, never giving in to modernity...

María Jóse López de Heredia, currently at the helm of the family winery, humbly says: “We keep making Viña Tondonia as we have always done it”.

Bodegas Artuke is a 16 hectare family estate in Banños de Ebro, rioja Alavesa, Arturo and Kike took over the family estate and started to make their wines more than 10 years ago. We have followed their progress closely from the beginning and they keep surprising us vintage after vintage. Their philosophy is that you can only make great wine from the best grapes. They look after the entire winemaking process and put limits on yield per hectare (5,500kg).

BODEGAS MARTÍNEZ LACUESTA ,  DOCa  RIOJA

Félix Martínez Lacuesta, a lawyer by profession, politician and businessman by vocation, set up the Martínez Lacuesta Hermanos business in 1895. Almost immediately his five brothers joined the firm and trust began a voyage into the world of Rioja wine which today the third generation of the family are proud to continue. From that time until the present the firm has  stuck to the same initial philosophy: to create great Rioja wines.

Vermuths

LA GRANJA DE NUESTRA SEÑORA  DE REMELLURI, TELMO RODRÍGUEZ, DOCa  RIOJA

After years of perfecting his craft and gainin recovery of the old vineyards in various parts of Spain, Telmo Rodríguez has returned to his family winery. The historic La Granja de Nuestra Senora de Remelluri estate is just outside the village of Labastida in Rioja Alavesa. Remelluri vineyards, which surround it, stretch along the slopes of Sierra de Toloño mountains, at the highest elevation in the region, benefiting from the unique microclimate, combining cooling Atlantic influence with just enought warmth to ripen the grapes to perfection. Organic farming principles have always been utilized here to ensure that the wine remains true to its unique terruño.

All plots are vinified separately, and the vines are head pruned in a traditional way. Telmo seeks to remain true to his family estate’s vaunted history, while guiding it into a bright tomorrow. His vision revolves around the uniqueness of the individual
plots, rather then the activities in the cellar. This place-based approach is exemplified in Remelluri´s newest project: Lindes de Remelluri, meaning  “the borders of Remelluri”. The two wines in this range are made from the grapes grown by local farmers from San Vincente de la Sonsierra and from Labastida. This is Telmo’s way to support the local community, as much as a tribute to the unique features of the two villages.

LA BICICLETA VOLADORA, GERMAN BLANCO, DOCa   RIOJA

2017 was just his 3rd vintage but recently selected (unfairly says German) by Sarah Jane Evans MW for  Decanter as one of the one of the 10 most influential free spirits of Rioja.
A new project, with grapes sourced from the small part of Rioja that’s in Navarra.
Tempranillo, organic viticulture, aged in concrete tanks and Flextank eggs. Lively, generous, drink-me-now.