If you look at a bottle of wine on the shelf and wondering whether it is the right vintage to drink now, here is a rule of thumb to guide you with your choice:
Wine under £20
White/Rose/Sparkling (except Champagnes) - same year or the previous year
Red wine - 3 year to 4 at a push!
Wine between £20 and £35
White/Rose/Sparkling - 2/3 years
Red - 5 to 10 years
Exception to the rule
Champagnes—some of the best champagnes are vintage but it is more complex than this as it all comes down to your preferences. More about it on another post.
Red wines such as Chianti and Rioja age extremely well, disregarding of their price tag
In Focus - The Rise in interest in aged Rioja
With its tradition of long ageing, its practice of blending grapes from across the region, and its reputation for consistency, Rioja is, in many ways, the Champagne of the still wine world. Long-aged gran reservas from esteemed estates like López de Heredia, Marqués de Riscal and La Rioja Alta remain among the best value fine wines in the world.
To some extent their affordability has made them less appealing to collectors seeking the globe’s finest and rarest drops, but as the likes of top Burgundy and Bordeaux become increasingly out of the price realm of mere mortals, might Rioja’s best expressions be able to provide an attractive and ageworthy alternative for a fraction of the cost?
Many estates are seeing increased demand for wines from vintages classified as ‘excellent’ by the consejo, the most recent of which being the 2011, 2010, 2005, 2004 and 2001 vintages. Only 14 vintages since 1925 have been ranked as ‘excellent’, so their rarity adds to the appeal.
“We have lots of customers asking us for the recent ‘excellent’ vintages, especially the 2010. It’s a fantastic vintage, but the wines still have a way to go before they reach their prime,” says José Urtasun, co-owner of Rioja Alavesa-based bodega Remirez de Ganuza, whose 2004 gran reserva is particularly sought after, thanks to a perfect Parker score.
Marqués de Murrieta receives regular requests for gran reservas dating as far back as 1925. “We have a great community of fans seeking out our older vintages. The historic years like 1925, 1964, 1994 and 2005 are extremely sought after as we only produce Castillo Ygay in the best vintages,” says the estate’s export director, Arthur de Lencquesaing.
As well as direct sales, top Rioja is also selling well at auction in the UK and US, particularly bottles from collectable vintages. “Classic Riojas from standout vintages like 1947, 1964 and 1968 are doing well with us,” says Noah May, head of department for wine and spirits at Christie’s London.
“When it comes to collectable wines, the prices are still very cheap in comparison with top Bordeaux and Burgundy. There is a growing interest in Riojas from acclaimed vintages, as you can still pick up the wines for comparatively little. We sell a lot for under £100, and some for as little as £30 a bottle at auction.”
Perfect provenance is key, and May is seeing the most interest for gran reservas from revered estates like López de Heredia, La Rioja Alta and Marqués de Riscal. “Their long ageing makes
them very durable, and there is still quite a lot of old stock at the wineries and in private collections in Spain. The wines age beautifully – a Tondonia Gran Reserva from the 1920s can age like a fine old Musigny, and an old Riscal could be mistaken for a top Bordeaux,” he says.
Victor Urrutia, CEO of CVNE, believes that an increased interest in Rioja on the part of wine critics, along with a recent spate of high scores, is helping to raise awareness of the wines among consumers, and increase their appeal. “Being the first Spanish wine to take the number one spot in the Wine Spectator Top 100 in 2013 with our Imperial Gran Reserva 2004 has certainly led to increased demand for our wines, particularly in the US,” he says.
But no matter how strong the appeal of an esteemed vintage, Berry Bros & Rudd’s Spanish wine buyer, Catriona Felstead MW, feels the producer and critics’ scores still trump vintage when it comes to consumers, hence the importance many Rioja estates place on their house style.
Fans of top Rioja often have to wait years between releases, which adds to the allure, thanks to the rarity factor. “The 2010 vintage of La Rioja Alta 904 was eagerly anticipated last summer, as customers had to wait a couple of years to get their hands on it,” says Felstead. Among the slowest to release their wines in the region is Haro-based López de Heredia, which launched its first rosé in a decade, the 2008 vintage, last year.
Felstead puts the hype around the wine down to rarity rather than the specific appeal of the 2008 vintage. In no rush to flood the market with its wines, the current gran reserva red from López de Heredia on sale is the 1995 vintage. “We are keenly awaiting the 2001 vintage, but the indications are that the release is still at least a year away,” laments Felstead.
Taking rarity in Rioja to new heights, in 2016 Marqués de Murrieta released the 1986 vintage of its Castillo Ygay Gran Reserva Blanco onto the market a staggering 30 years after it was made.
Only 11 vintages of the wine have been bottled since 1919. The Wine Advocate’s Spanish wine critic, Luiz Gutiérrez, described the 1986 vintage as “one of the best white wines of my life”, and gave it a perfect 100-point score – a first for a Spanish white from the publication.
Made from a blend of 97% Viura and 3% Malvasia, the wine spent 21 years in American oak and nearly six in concrete. De Lencquesaing is unable to confirm when the next vintage of the exceptionally rare white will be released. “The last time that Halley’s Comet was seen was in 1986, and it is predicted to return in 2061 – let’s hope we don’t have to wait that long for the next Castillo Ygay Blanco release,” he quips.
Unlike Bordeaux, Rioja prices tend to remain stable from year to year, and producers don’t seem compelled to put their prices up in excellent vintages. “The concept of vintage has always been important in Rioja but it doesn’t influence consumer buying decisions as much as it does in regions like Bordeaux.
While Rioja may lack unity when it comes to the timing of its vintage releases, this doesn’t seem to be muting the buzz around long-awaited gran reservas, with the ‘excellent’ vintages of 2004 and 2005 from López de Heredia still years away from hitting the market.
As the prices of Bordeaux, Burgundy and Barolo continue to soar, the chance to snap up perfectly cellared old Riojas from acclaimed producers for a song is sure to attract the attention of savvy collectors seeking wines that age in a similarly graceful way. As single bottles of DRC continue to sell for crazy money at auction, how lovely that there are still some pockets of the wine world where the prices seem suspended in time.
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