Blame it on Rioja

Partnering with Bon Vivant imports,  Zev Rovine, the young and affable owner of Zev Rovine Selections, handles NYC distribution for an impressive lineup of Spanish and Italian wineries, including a bodega called Las Orcas, located at the foot of the walled city of Laguardia, a stone’s throw from the Sierra Cantabria in Rioja Alavesa.

The bodega’s 2000 ‘Pagos de Valde Orcas,’ unknown to me until two days ago, is quite a nice little gem of a wine.  Officially the winery’s ‘high expression’ bottling, 100% Tempranillo with 20 months in French oak, the wine is nevertheless surprisingly soft spoken and classic in its character, “light on its feet,” as Zev put it.  An Atlantic vintage to be sure, the 2000, but the winemaker’s touch here is admirably restrained.  I suspect the wine will age very well for many years to come, with enviable grace.

Bodegas Las Orcas ‘Pagos de Valde Orcas’ Rioja 2004 is $44.99/bottle at  Chelsea Wine Vault. For more information, or to inquire about the availability of the 2000 vintage, contact Zev Rovine at zev@zrswines.com

Bodegas Las Orcas
Camino de La Hoya, 1
01300 Laguardia (Álava)
Phone 945 62 11 48 / 677 50 17 91

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 25th, 2009 at 3:15 pm and is filed under Bodegas, Climate, General, Grape Varieties, Importers, New York City, Oak, Red Wine, Retailers, Rioja Alavesa, Tempranillo, Topography, Tradition and Innovation, Vintages, White Wine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.