Gracias sí
Jesus Madrazo (far right), winemaker at Contino, conducting a tasting of his single estate’s wines with group of sommeliers from the U.S. (left to right), Jason Smith MS, Juan Gómez MS, Theresa Paopao (back to camera) and Skye Latorre. Madrazo is one of Rioja’s most eloquent advocates of Graciano. Photo: Kelly Bucher.
The pun most often heard in Rioja concerns the Graciano grape variety.
Rioja reds are allowed to have Tempranillo, Garnacha, Mazuelo, and Graciano in their blend. Tempranillo, of course, rules the region’s roost. There is also a considerable amount of Garnacha planted, especially in Rioja Baja. Mazuelo and Graciano combined make up less than 5% of all plantings, with Graciano making up a little over 1% of Rioja’s total vineyard.
Notoriously hard to grow, highly susceptible to diseases, and largely low yielding, Graciano has reputation problem. So much so that wine growers will tell you,
“Graciano? Gracias, no.”
But based on recent travels and conversations with winemakers who looking closely at their vines and their wines, Graciano, even in its tiny representation, is a critical part of the equation.
“It’s what Petit Verdot is to Bordeaux,” Miguel Angel de Gregorio if Finca Allende told me last year, “It’s what needed [in the blend] but also what’s scarce.”
“If you have an excellent Tempranillo and an excellent Graciano,” says Jorge Muga of Bodegas Muga, who uses Graciano in the blend of all four of his brands, classic and modern, “the mix is always better.”
Jesus Madrazo, winemaker at Viñedos del Contino, is one of Graciano’s most eloquent supporters, not least because his 62 hecatare single estate on the northern banks of the Río Ebro has near perfect growing conditions for the grape. As a hobby, he releases a few thousand bottles of a 100% Graciano.
“We say, ‘Gracias, sí,’ because we believe in Graciano,” Sr. Madrazo told me during our brief interview with him at Contino last fall. “It gives us color, it gives us acidity, it gives alcohol, it gives everything.
“If you use 10 percent or 20 percent of Graciano in each of your wines, you will discover marvelous results,” Madrazo continued. “For example, you can have a wine with 14% alcohol and you don’t feel hot sensations or burning sensations on your tounge because [the Graciano] is refreshing your palate…you will have marvelous aromas, like licorice, menthol, anisette, a lot of things that refresh you–and incredible color.”