IF RIOJA was a song, it would be a soft, weepy Tony Bennett number. Something to put on at the end of the evening to please your mother, while reducing the men in the room to tears.
Ever since it burst on to the British high street in the early 1970s, rioja has spent decades seducing us with its smooth, silky charms. I can think of no other red wine that appeals to the non-wine-drinker quite like a glass of rioja. Its attractive
ness lies in flavours derived from the use of sweet American oak – vanilla, toffee and butter – and the fruit of the tempranillo grape – which has a wonderful scent of strawberry jam with a slight peppery undertone. Put them together and what do you get? Warm buttered toast on thick brown bread. Perhaps rioja is the ultimate comfort wine.
Yet rioja's style is changing. The traditional, big, oaky and in many ways gamey character has in recent years given way to a cleaner, more defined fruit-driven style. Traditional rioja is a blend of grapes from three wine-making areas – Alta, Alavesa and Baja – and has a subtle, delicate character. The nose is of mature red fruit, and the oak is perhaps well aged and quite woody.
New riojas are big and blousy with plenty of fruit. This is appalling news for us Brits, who adore the old-style riojas – or so I thought.
A few weeks ago, I called upon Scotland's unofficial rioja guru, Michael Romer, proprietor of Edinburgh wine merchant Peter Green, and hosted a rioja stand-off: modern versus traditional. Together, in the confines of my kitchen, we tasted our way through nearly 25 bodegas in an attempt to discover which style we preferred.
Romer has been collecting Spanish wines for years, and his list is packed full of rare sherries and interesting crianzas. Indeed, his passion for Spain's wines seems to have rubbed off on his family as his daughter, Suzy, now lives in the country.
The old-style rioja Romer remembers was invariably low in alcohol, ready to drink (due to the ageing laws: crianza, aged two years in oak; reserva, aged three; and gran reserva, five years old, two spent in the barrel) and non varietal. What we found, tasting through the wines, was that alcohol levels had, disappointingly, followed the New World trend and exploded. Nearly every wine began at 13%, with some reaching 14.5%. As long as consumer demand for riper flavours and softer tannins continues, the craze for high-alcohol wines will not stop. It is a worrying trend, and flies in the face of the European way of life – where a small glass of wine is enjoyed at lunch or in the afternoon.
On the plus side, the 'modern' wines we tasted were almost all improved versions of the traditional style. Indeed, perhaps the premise of the debate was wrong. New-style rioja is cleaner, purer and has more perfumed, attractive fruit. The oak is still there, but the woody, varnish smell that traditionalists in Spain loved has gone. These wines never sold particularly well in the UK. And the experiment confirmed my suspicion that the taste, texture and purity of wine is reaching new levels. Sadly, though, it seems alcohol levels are rising too.
2003 Marqués de Murrieta Capellania, 13.5%, £12.99, A traditional, rich, almost sherried white rioja. Made from a single-vineyard, it has plenty of gutsy, intense character, with hints of spice and a dob of vanilla.
2005 Marqués de la Concordia Crianza, 13.5%, £8.49 (two for £9.98)A big, powerful wine with strong, earthy flavours such as tobacco, cedar and spice, and a savoury, farmyard character. The palate is smooth with dark, autumnal flavours and a hint of chocolate and coffee. This ripe wine is best taken with red meat.
Luis Canas Reserva Seleccion de la Familia, 14%, £11.86This is an incredibly modern style with a forward, ripe nose of strawberry and plums. The palate is smooth and the tannins are as soft as a pillow. If this is modern rioja, it gets a resounding thumbs-up from me.
Stockists: Direct Wine (028 9050 8000, www.directwine.co.uk); Majestic (0131 662 8512, www.majestic.co.uk); Peter Green (0131 229 5925); Raeburn Fine Wines (0131 343 1159); Waitrose (
www.waitrose.com)
