I first experienced Rioja at a wine tasting on Jeju Island, South Korea (of all places). I instantly fell in love with this style from Spain and the Tempranillo grape. So whenever I am looking for something a bit different I track down a bottle. This time in Dan Murphy’s I was tiring of the Bons Ventos Tinto (Red) wine (discussed elsewhere in thsi blog) although it’s still a great value everyday drop and the latest vintages of the Vintage Cellars Chote du Rhone weren’t up to scratch and seemed to be lighter in style.
So with that background I picked up a bottle of the 2009 Campo Burgo Cosecha Rioja at about $9. And … it’s a cracker. It’s a fairly basic wine. According to Wikipedia “Rioja red wines are classified into four categories. The first, simply labeled “Rioja,” is the youngest, spending less than a year in an oak aging barrel. A “crianza” is wine aged for at least two years, at least one of which was in oak. “Rioja Reserva” is aged for at least three years, of which at least one year is in oak. Finally, “Rioja Gran Reserva” wines have been aged at least two years in oak and three years in bottle.” And this is just a Rioja, but for everyday there’s enough complexity and interest to keep things lively yet there’s enough fine grained tannins to see this age for a few years in the cellar. Maybe until 2015 or so. But don’t wait. Grab a dozen or so and enjoy it daily for good health. 45 million Spaniards can’t be wrong!
What food does it go with? I reckon anything with garlic. We had some lamb steaks with a touch of garlic and the earthy red wine brought out the magnificent flavours. We had a salad of cous cous, red onion, beans, homegrown parsley which all let the wine deliver its goods. The more peasant style the food, the better the wine will match.
Dan Murphy’s only has a brief note about this wine. They say “Rioja’s Campo Burgo Tinto Cosecha, a huge hit among Dan Murphy’s customers, completes the trifecta of Tempranillo-based wines. This is a fresh fruit driven style with plenty of vinosity.”
But I’ll leave the last word to WikiPedia that have a good write up on Rioja. Some extracts follow:
Rioja is a wine, with Denominación de Origen Calificada (D.O.C. Qualified designation of origin) named after La Rioja, in Spain. Rioja is made from grapes grown not only in the Autonomous Community of La Rioja, but also in parts of Navarre and the Basque province of Álava. Rioja is further subdivided into three zones:Rioja Alta, Rioja Baja and Rioja Alavesa. Many wines have traditionally blended fruit from all three regions though there is a slow growth in single zone wines.
Among the Tintos, the best-known and most widely-used variety is Tempranillo. Other grapes used include Garnacha Tinta, Graciano, and Mazuelo. A typical blend will consist of approximately 60% Tempranillo and up to 20% Garnacha, with much smaller proportions of Mazuelo and Graciano. Each grape adds a unique component to the wine with Tempranillo contributing the main flavors and aging potential to the wine; Garnacha adding body and alcohol; Mazuelo adding seasoning flavors and Graciano adding additional aromas.
A distinct characteristic of Rioja wine is the effect of oak aging. First introduced in the early 18th century by Bordeaux influenced winemakers, the use of oak and the pronounced vanilla flavors in the wines has been a virtual trademark of the region though some modern winemakers are experimenting with making wines less influenced by oak. Originally French oak was used but as the cost of the barrels increased many bodegas began to buy American oak planks and fashion them into barrels at Spanish cooperages in a style more closely resembling the French method. This included hand splitting the wood, rather than sawing, and allowing the planks time to dry and “season” in the outdoors versus drying in the kiln.[8] In recent times, more bodegas have begun using French oak and many will age wines in both American and French oak for blending purposes.[5]
In the past, it was not uncommon for some bodegas to age their red wines for 15-20 years or even more before their release. One notable example of this the Marqués de Murrieta which released its 1942 vintage gran reserva in 1983 after 41 years of aging. Today most bodegas have shifted their winemaking focus to wines that are ready to drink sooner with the top wines typically aging for 4-8 years prior to release though some traditionalists still age longer.
Jancis Robinson: Published : 10-Jun-2009. Pure and sleek and very mouthfilling. Really polished and marine. Dry but very good acid and mouthfilling fruit. When to drink 2009 to 2010.
Mostly Australian Wine 