Rioja 100 Year Celebration - Sydney

The 2016 Xerico that we are offering today is an ode to the wines that Roberto's ancestors drank - Rioja without oak maturation. In place of the oak is cement and chestnut foudre's. The other connection with the past is that the wine contains 15% of the white grape Viura whilst the balance is Tempranillo.

Xerico is the name of the soil 'Xeric Torriothent'! This is a carlcareous marl soil from the Tertiary era on eroded slopes.

This wine is from three plots - El Pedrón, La Entrada and La Fuente Colas. The age of the vines range from 15 to 50 years old.

Fermentation is completed with natural yeasts in stainless steel and cement vats to retain freshness and minerality. As I mentioned above this wine doesn't see any oak and is aged for five months in cement vats and chestnut foudres.

Don't think of this as Joven style - it is much more serious. 

Pristine cherries, plums and a touch of grapefruit with grilled herbs and tile. Lovely texture and transparency here with a mineral twist. Tannins are fresh and vertical. Pure and lively. Drink now. ZEKUN SHUAI, JamesSuckling.com

The 2020 Cemento is 100% Tempranillo sourced from Rioja Alta. As the name suggests, it aged in concrete vats. Exhibiting a purple hue, the reductive nose offers notes of wild herbs and cherries. With a dry, firm and juicy palate, it lingers on delightful fruit notes—a straightforward and tasty Rioja. JOAQUIN HIDALGO, Vinous

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

Maisulan is the personal project of Eva and Luis Ruiz, a small biodynamic farm in Rioja Alavesa. Their wines reflect the limestone terroir and low-intervention philosophy.

Juicy, textured blend of Tempranillo and Viura. Red fruit, subtle spice, harmonious.

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

Excellent depth and complexity here, showing graphite, pencil shavings, inky blackberries, dark earth funk, black cherries and some roasted spices. Medium to full body with plenty of tight but creamy tannins. Juicy, pretty long and youthful. 100% tempranillo. Better from 2024. ZEKUN SHUAI, JamesSuckling.com

Laderas de Cabama is 100% Tempranillo, crafted from a single plot of 40-year-old vines in Ollauri. It grows on the classic clay/limestone soil of the Rioja Alta. This single-vineyard bottling used to be made in a similar style to Valenciso’s flagship Reserva, in that it was built to age in barrel and bottle before release. From the 2018 vintage, Valenciso has sought to craft Laderas de Cabama in a younger, more fruit-forward style. The fruit is picked a little earlier and the winemaking employs a portion of whole-berry, semi-carbonic fermentation, bringing a more primary, juicy profile.

No new oak is used. Instead, fermentation occurs in cool concrete, followed by 14 months in used French oak barrels. The resulting wine is spicy and rich, with blackberry and plummy fruit, some spice and tobacco leaf notes from the whole-bunch fermentation. It boasts good depth and a tea-scented, full-bodied finish. Great on its own, this will also suit a wide variety of meat dishes.

A bright, racy nose loaded with fruit, flowers, minerals and red cherries. Fine tannins unwind nicely with the fruit on the palate, with a medium body and a pretty long, precise finish. A co-fermentation from a co-planted vineyard over 60 years old in Abalos. 80% tempranillo, 10% garnacha tinto and 10% viura and other grapes, Half of the wine was aged in old concrete and the other half in used 500-liter oak barrels. Such a joy to drink now. ZEKUN SHUAI, JamesSuckling.com

The 2022 Colección de Viñedos is a village red with 80% Tempranillo, 10% Garnacha and 10% Viura from four vineyards in Ábalos. It fermented in stainless steel with neutral yeasts. It feels a little like a carbonic-maceration red, but it fermented destemmed; it feels very young and primary, with a fruit-driven nose and a vinous palate, juicy and with very fine tannins and moderate acidity. 25,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in July 2023. LUIS GUTIERREZ, The Wine Advocate

Balanced and supple, with notes of fresh plum, blackberry, tobacco leaf and liquorice. This is a juicy, fresh wine with bright acidity and a dry, chalky finish. DECANTER

Coleccion' is an assemblage of old bush vines (more than 60yo) from three parcelas, Peña Caída, Centenales y los Trepados, planted to Tempranillo with 10% each of Garnacha and Viura. These are field blends grown at just below 600m, yielding 4 tonnes/ha. Open tank fermentation of destemmed fruit, after a brief cold soak, 14 days fermentation and maceration, then malo transformation and 'aged' in raw concrete and 500L French oak casks for six months. Unfined. An incredible bargain!

The approachable and juicy red 2022 Tinto was produced with 75% Tempranillo, 20% Garnacha and 5% white grapes, as the Garnacha and the white are vital. This year, the wine achieved higher ripeness, at 14.7% alcohol, but it doesn't feel alcoholic or warm and comes through as rounder and juicier but still fresh and in balance, very pleasant and easy to drink. It matured in 225- and 500-liter barrels—they now have more 500-liter barrels than 225-liter—and in 1,000- and 3,000-liter oak foudres. 20,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in May 2024. LUIS GUTIERREZ, The Wine Advocate

This Tinto reflects Oscar and Eva’s interest in the deep history of Rioja. The idea is to blend villages, some which suit Tempranillo and some which yield great Garnacha; blending the cold limestone of the northern hills with warmer iron-stone soils from foothills in the south. This is a hand-made, high care Rioja Generico. It specifically references the significance of Garnacha in historical Riojas: varietal Tempranillo wines being a fad since the 1980s. It’s inspired by the legendary Gran Reservas of Viña Real: back in the 1950s, the key fruit for such came from the parcels Oscar and Eva now work.

Combining grapes from Autol, Alfaro, Adeanueva and Rincón de Soto, Costumbres is a regional expression of the Rioja Oriental. Garnacha based with 5% Garnacha Roya, Tempranillo and Tinta Velasco, it's a very lightly wooded red with 100% whole bunch spices, subtle grip and layers of bramble, raspberry and red cherry fruit. TIM ATKIN MW.

This exceptional, rocky white Rioja goes from strength to strength. Today the blend comprises 85% Viura with 10% Malvasía Riojana and 5% Garnacha Blanca. The grapes are drawn mostly from the cool, high country of Ábalos, including the old-vine vineyards of San Cristobel (650 metres) and Perquita, planted in 1965. From 2022, the wine now benefits from a portion of 75-year-old Viura from Baños de Ebro. Fermented wild in concrete, the wine was then raised in a mixture of eggs, old barrels and 4,000-litre foudre as Puyaubert seeks to harness the mineral salinity and tension gifted by the rocky limestone soils and old vines in his highland vineyards. As always, it’s a shining example of new-wave Rioja Blanco.

Founded in 1890, La Rioja Alta is one of the most respected names in Rioja, synonymous with classical Gran Reserva and Reserva wines. Based in Haro, the estate owns prime vineyards in Rioja Alta and Alavesa and ages its wines extensively in American oak. Bright red cherry fruit, sweet spice and tobacco notes. Medium-bodied, polished, balanced.

Macán is the joint project of Vega Sicilia of Ribera del Duero and Benjamin de Rothschild of Bordeaux. Together, they craft refined Rioja from prime Alavesa Tempranillo.

Generous, approachable, black cherry, cassis, vanilla, spice. Sleek tannins, polished, modern.

Clean and bright with an intense and refreshing aroma, dominated by white fruit, especially pear, followed by stone fruits and citrus touches, complemented by soft nuances of aromatic herbs and white flower. On the palate, it's loaded with fresh fruit and a smooth texture and perfectly balanced acidity. A balanced and delightfully fresh experience. BODEGAS VALDEMAR

Pale rosado, delicate and savoury. Strawberry, watermelon, blood orange, mineral backbone. Gastronomic and refreshing.

Exopto is the project of Bordeaux-born winemaker Tom Puyaubert, who has become one of Rioja's leading "new wave" voices. He focuses on high-altitude vineyards in Rioja Alavesa and Baja, working with Garnacha, Graciano and Tempranillo from old vines to craft wines of freshness, finesse and mineral precision. His style is more about lift and terroir than oak, showing how Rioja can combine tradition with contemporary expression.

Dark cherry, blackberry, violets, spice, supple tannins and energetic acidity. Balance and precision, built to age gracefully.

Macán is the joint project of Vega Sicilia of Ribera del Duero and Benjamin de Rothschild of Bordeaux. Together, they craft refined Rioja from prime Alavesa Tempranillo. Dark, powerful, layers of blackberry, plum, graphite, fine oak. Structured yet silky.

Winemaker Germán R. Blanco crafts La Bicicleta Voladora with a focus on organic farming, minimal intervention and pure expression. His aim is to make "drinkable, honest Rioja" with low extraction and no excess oak.
Bright, unoaked white with citrus and stone fruit. Crisp, fresh and aromatic.

Winemaker Germán R. Blanco crafts La Bicicleta Voladora with a focus on organic farming, minimal intervention and pure expression. His aim is to make "drinkable, honest Rioja" with low extraction and no excess oak.
Bright, unoaked Tempranillo with cherry, violet and subtle spice. Juicy, fresh, highly drinkable.

Maisulan is the personal project of Eva and Luis Ruiz, a small biodynamic farm in Rioja Alavesa. Their wines reflect the limestone terroir and low-intervention philosophy.

Pure Tempranillo with wild berry, violet, graphite. Fresh, medium-bodied, mineral, fine tannins.

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

Husband-and-wife team Oscar Alegre and Eva Valgañón have become cult figures in Rioja. Their wines combine Burgundian finesse with Rioja terroir, crafted from old vines and aged with subtle oak.

Fresh, vibrant white with notes of pear, citrus and floral undertones. Textured yet lively, a fine example of modern Rioja Blanco.

A historic field blend of red and white grapes co-fermented. Pale pink, with cherry, citrus and savoury herb. Dry and refreshing.

Claríto is a tribute to the deep traditions of Rioja, updated perhaps. ‘Back in the day’ such wines were the epitome of a Village Rioja. In little towns, a small amount of Viura would trickle in, but it would take days to fill a press, so it was ‘little-by-little’ adding whatever correctly-picked fruit came in until a batch was ready, first white then later some red.

In 2022, the Viura was picked (September 14th), de-stemmed and macerated for 3 days or so until the red was ready to pick. This was added as 100% whole bunch Garnacha atop the white. After a couple of days co-maceration, it was gently pressed to a yield of just 65%. The young Clarete must was then left to ferment spontaneously in combination of a 3,200L raw concrete vat and a 2,000L stainless tank. Working with lots of skins, the fermentation started easily and was done in 8 days. The young wine and its fine lees were then aged in gorgeous raw concrete cubes for 8 months (a portion aged in a single old 1,000 litre foudre), stirred occasionally to protect from reduction During this time, natural malolactic conversion happens to create balance and palate structure. No sulphur additions are made to the wine.

The subtle orange look of Claríto ‘22 is matched on the nose with a line of tangerine skin. This fragrance plays beautifully around an air of ‘dust in a Rioja vineyard’, along with faded roses. Dried silage (including a hint of pickle) and sea shell smells tell of Viura grown in chalk. The nose is deep, bell-clear, like smelling the water in a well, many feet down, below the dust, the heat, the haze. Cool and still. The throat develops a deep compulsive tickle of desire to swallow. One is drawn in. In the mouth, there’s savoury roundness backlit citric with orange and golden persimmon, crabapples, brushed steel earthiness, faded florals. Steel magnolias and cherry skins in short. It’s edged by deep chalky minerality and run through with tangible energy … a circle with a line through it. Plenty of skinsy-tannin mouthfeel gives ungrippy grip, presence without tension.

 

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

José Gil is one of Rioja's brightest young talents, crafting micro-production wines from old vineyards around San Vicente. His style is precise, pure and terroir-expressive.
Tempranillo from old bush vines. Dense yet refined, with dark fruit, floral notes, and fine structure.

Miguel Merino founded his tiny bodega in Briones in the 1990s, focusing on small-batch, artisanal Rioja. His wines are prized for their precision, balance, and ageworthiness.
Elegant Tempranillo with bright red cherry, floral notes, and subtle mineral undertones. Fresh, structured, and approachable.

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

More product information will be added here soon! In the meantime, if you do have any questions at all about this product or others in our store, you can contact us by phone or email. Our friendly and experienced team are always happy to assist - we love drinking, selling, talking about and being in and around wine!

Located in the far west of Rioja Alta, Castillo de Cuzcurrita makes terroir-driven wines from cooler sites. Their style is elegant, savoury and finely structured.
Classic Tempranillo with dark cherry, cedar and spice. Firm and ageworthy, with a long mineral finish.