The Grace of Age: Rioja Gran Reserva from the ‘Miracle Vintage’ of 1964
I’ll never forget the moment María José López de Heredia mentioned to me in passing, at her family’s bodega in Haro, that 1964 was considered the ‘miracle vintage.’
“These wines never age,” she added, half-proud, half-confused as to why this was the case. Which is to say that the 1964 Gran Reservas from Viña Tondonia and Viña Bosconia, the two principal vineyards belonging to Bodegas R. López de Heredia Viña Tondonia, hit their strides sometime in the 1970s and 1980s (1964’s ’sweet spot’ and ‘choir’ decades, respectively) and then just stayed put, maintaining their freshness and complexity without any signs of heading downhill.
Neither of María José’s wines were opened at the Rioja Grand Tasting Seminar last month, but her point is well taken. Not only were the two wines from 1964 that were chosen—Faustino and Marqués de Riscal—full of life (although I must admit that I did hear grumblings afterwards that there was some bottle variation among the Riscal samples), but both wines were a snapshot of the region’s diversity.
14. Faustino I Gran Reserva 1964 - 80% Tempranillo, 10% Graciano, 10% Mazuelo. Without a doubt the surprise of the tasting and the belle of the ball. Based in the Rioja Alavesa town of Oyón, Fasutino is a venerable bodega with a storied past, a wine ‘cemetery’ stocked with bottles consigned to members of royalty and modern-day celebrities alike, and boasts one of the region’s biggest productions, with an impressive, if not mind-blowing, reputation. The 1964 Faustino Gran Reserva, on the other hand, was mind blowing, a sentiment shared by The New York Times‘ chief wine critic Eric Asimov, whose eloquent blog post on the day’s tasting, Spaniards of a Certain Age, described the Faustino as “wonderful … complex … ethereal.” Round and lively and seductive in the ways that a fine aged Burgundy can be, it was a wine I wanted to spirit off to another room to enjoy properly, in solitude, or at least in some ritual ceremony with loved ones that gave ample time for quiet contemplation.
15. Marqués de Riscal Gran Reserva 1964 - Tempranillo 75%, Cabernet Sauvignon 25%. If the Faustino could be described as Burgundian or perhaps even feminine, then the ‘64 Riscal, made at the legendary bodega in nearby Elciego, could be seen as a much more masculine style of aged Rioja, Bordelais in it black fruit and vegetal edge, owing, one would guess, to its significant percentage of ‘grandfathered’ Cabernet Sauvignon.
It was the kind of finish that tasting dreams are made of, the kind of finale that makes folks like me immediately count our blessings and bow with gratitude to the altar of all that’s good in universe that this has become our livelihood.
Bravo Rioja. May the Rioja Gran Reserva live on forever.
MIRACLE WORKER: A pourer at City Winery in Manhattan doles out a taste of Faustino’s extraordinary 1964 Faustino I Gran Reserva. TOP: The two ’64s side by side before the tasting. PHOTOS BY DONALD BOWERS