Blame it on Rioja

Rioja and Ribs: A Seattle Pairing, August 2008

Market nerves and tight belts demand a heightened sense of watchfulness when it comes to wine dollar allocations these days. In that spirit, I’ve been on the lookout lately for Riojas with a high bang-to-buck ratio. There’s lots out there. History, climate, tradition, investment–there are a lot of reasons why Rioja offers great value. In the coming weeks, I’d like to share some of the region’s best values in these pages.

The first one that comes to mind is Bodegas LAN’s 2001 Reserva, a bottle of which I picked up at a Seattle supermarket while visiting the family of my girlfriend’s brother, Howie, two months ago. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and we had picked up spicy pork ribs, beef brisket, and hot links from Jones Barbecue in Mt. Baker for a casual outdoor dinner in Howie’s backyard.

Wine for these sorts of occasions should be approachable but not flabby or facile; they should have good acidity and tannic structure but shouldn’t scream those traits out. The key is integration of components; and this wine is benchmark Rioja in this sense. All of its constituent elements are in harmony; easy enough to drink but with a finish that lingers. It’s juicy and jammy enough to hold its own with spicy barbecue sauce, but has delicate enough aromas and flavors to make it worthy of sensual consideration on its own merits. I other words, it doesn’t need food per se, but it sure loves it.

I haven’t always loved LAN, and just recently I discovered that, beginning with the 2001 vintage, LAN has added Graciano to its reserva blend of Tempranillo, Mazuelo, and Garnacha. Whether this was the decisive move for my palate I cannot say for sure. But I can say that this wine rocks. Howie and company concurred.

And for a price tag of around $17, it rocks the Casbah.

Bodegas LAN 2001 Reserva is available at K&L Wine Merchants in Redwood City, CA for $15.99

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.

(more…)