‘76 to ‘82: Aged Rioja and American Popular Music: More from Evolution of Rioja Gran Reserva
GOOD NEIGHBOR POLICY: Jorge Muga of Bodeags Muga opens a bottle of La Rioja Alta’s 904 Rioja Gran Reserva 1982 at recent tasting in New York City. La Rioja Alta is Bodegas Muga’s next door neighbor in the Spanish town of Haro. PHOTO: DONALD BOWERS
I mentioned in a recent post that the greatness found in so many of the wines served at last month’s Evolution of Rioja Gran Reserva Seminar owes a staggering debt to the simple passage of time. If the Rioja Gran Reservas from the 1990s are hitting their ’sweet spots,’ then the three wines we tasted from the 1980s (and one wine from the 1976) are showing signs of hitting the heavenly notes of a boys’ choir on Christmas Day.
To extend the musical metaphor even further, I’ve assigned each wine an album released in the U.S. the same year that each wine’s grapes were harvested, picking music that somehow reflects, evokes, or otherwise accompanies each wine in question.
It seems a worthwhile excercise, since one of the beautiful and largely unsung joys of opening an old bottle of wine is the very act of uncorking history. 1976 to 1982 were my early formative years (aged 7 to 13), and beyond summer honeysuckle smells and watching an old slide show, nothing is more magically evocative of bygone years than imagining what was playing on the radio (or spinning on my older brother Mauricio’s turntable) at the time.
10. La Rioja Alta 904 Gran Reserva 1982 - 85% Tempranillo, 15% Mazuelo and Graciano. Textbook classic aged Rioja from an awesome vintage that saw low yields, owing to spring and summer drought, and excellent conditions at harvest. A poem in a glass. Alluring notes of saddle and tobacco-scented cedar overlain by opulent tertiary red fruit. Exceptional balance, marked acidity, and relatively low alcohol make this a wine of contemplation that also happens to scream out for exceptional food. Album: Elvis Costello, Imperial Bedroom. A singular accomplishment from an artist in personal crisis but in obvious creative ascendancy. Best track: “Man Out of Time.”
11. R. López de Heredia Viña Bosconia Gran Reserva 1981 - 80% Tempranillo, 15% Garnacha, 5% Mazuelo and Graciano. Whoa! Sets itself quite apart from the rest of the lineup from the first nose: damp, decayed, and decadent woodsy aromas with generous red fruit and a good dose of funk. Delicious. Tart, peppery, and evolved, with lots of life. Grows more opulent and regal as it opens in the glass. Album: The Police, Ghost in the Machine. A rare combination of well-crafted pop and accomplished musicianship, this is an album my brother played incessantly during the summer of 1981. It still holds up well. Best track: “Spirits in a Material World.” Much as I love “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic,” the opening track opens so strong, with a deceptively simple keyboard intro accented by saxophone and guitar and truly great underlying bass line that I only started noticing many, many years after I first heard the song.
12. Montecillo Gran Reserva 1981 - 100% Tempranillo. An exceptional wine from one of Rioja’s best known bodegas. Subdued but ripe black fruit with loads of baking spices and a touch of cedary wood. Elegant, understated, very quaffable. Album: Journey, Escape. I never stopped believin’. A guilty pleasure that miraculously never sounds dated. Great fun to sing along with, an activity (I think) I executed fairly well as a 12-year-old but one which becomes more difficult with age (embarrassing karaoke mishap five years ago to prove it). Best track: “Don’t Stop Believin’” (Of course) Glad to see this song gets some props finally, after David chase chose it to conclude his HBO series, The Sopranos (I am one of the few who LOVED that scene, all that tension on-screen matched by the great fade-in guitar trill in the song that ends with a Buh-Buhm.) Who’s cryin’ now?
13. CVNE Imperial Gran Reserva 1976 - 80% Tempranillo, 10% Mazuelo, 10% Graciano. I could be wrong but I am beginning to notice some commonalities with the 1976 vintage Gran Reserva from multiple houses: a distinct candied, almost caramelized property on the nose that’s not in the least bit cloying. Round and generous and very supple. Abundant red fruit but beautifully integrated with spice and a faint leathery character. All elements delicate but complex. Album: Stevie Wonder: Songs in the Key of Life. Although I can remember the songs from this masterpiece of an album playing on the radio, it took my YOUNGER brother Pablo to point out just how amazingly rich this album is from start to finish (an accomplished singer, Pablo does an amazing rendition of “Sir Duke”). Best track: “As.” I have posted about this song before but I cannot overstate just how much it means to me. The song most likely to brighten my mood on a crappy day. A song that brings a be-here-now brand of joy and lovely memories of a happy childhood simultaneously.