Around this time last month, in the Wine Related Travel section, I was provided some good suggestions on wineries in the Rioja and Basques regions as we prepared for a quick, 3-day visit.
Having returned from this rugged, but beautiful region, I had the opportunity to visit a few wineries and sample their products. All I can say is that I can’t wait to go back to this region.
My major takeaway is that good Rioja reds are some of the most food-friendly and versatile reds that I’ve come upon. Traditionally-made aged ones can be stunning and complex; while I am now in awe of some of the aged whites that I was able to sample.
Bodegas Muga, Haro, Rioja Alta
Just 2 minutes the outskirts of the town of Haro, Bodegas Muga stands out with its mostly warehouse-like facade buildings, while retaining the quaint, almost Medieval-like architecture. The large old oak doors that swing into the visitor-receiving room manifest the grandeur of this fabled winery. Everything about the winery is made of either stone or oak. The lone tower, with which the bottling Torre Muga was named after, is a distinctive feature of this winery.
We were shown and explained every aspect of the wine-making process within the confines of the bodega and were continuously in awe of the tradition employed. Everything about this winery exudes seriousness and solemnity in winemaking. The tour culminated in their old, yet very beautiful, tasting room - a room that reeked of tradition nicely complemented with historical photos and decors
2 wines were offered for tasting:
2004 Muga Crianza - tannic, tight, showing good balance, lots of oak, toffee, some red fruit, and a medium finish. B+
2007 Muga Blanco - this one was harsh with hard edges and showed mineral components. Not my preferred white. B-
In addition to the above-mentioned wines, the individually tissue-wrapped 2000 Prado Enea were also available for sale at the winery store for Euro22 (about US$33 at the prevailing exchange rate).
CVNE Bodegas Vina Real, Rioja Alavesa
The Compania Vinicola del Norte de Espana (CVNE) Vina Real winery is the anti-thesis to the traditional and classic winemaking as done in the Haro or Rioja Alta area. The CVNE group has their main and oldest production bodega in Haro for their Imperial, Real de Asua, and Monopole wines. A 3rd winery produces the internation-style Contino brand.
The Vina Real winery sits imposingly on top of a hill and is visible from about 2 to 3 miles from the twisting main road that approaches from the west. It looks so modern and so imposing that while driving in, that it’s easy to imagine that a laser beam will suddenly shoot up from the winery and into the sky above to annihilate another planet. The suspicious security guard at the gate made some worried phone calls to the offices deep within the winery to confirm our appointments and identities, before activating open the gates to let us drive through, and this is very reminiscent of a James Bond movie scene when entering Dr. No's huge secret mountain hideout.
Everything about this winery is ultra modern. From the shape of the main building, like a cut-off top half of a wine barrel the size of a small indoor stadium, to the huge mechanical robotic machineries that swirl around the inside of the "stadium barrel" picking up and positioning in place the huge stainless-steel vats containing the juice. The cover-all clad hench-men, I mean workers, had me believing that Dr. No will soon be lowered down on this throne through the roof of the dome and into the middle of the processing plant to welcome us, complete with his favorite cat on his lap.
We joined a Spanish-language tour as the English ones were not available during my desired times.
Towards the end of the tour, and back in the tasting room, we were offered 2 wines to sample:
2006 Monopole Blanco - Yuck!
2004 Vina Real Crianza - definitely better than the white, very dark cherry red in color, lean, tannic, oak, waves of blue berries and other dark fruit, quite a mouthful, nice and with a long finish. Yes! Even James Bond would agree that Dr. No can make good wines. B+
2001 Vina Real Oro Reserva - this one was not offered for tasting, but I purchased a couple of bottles for about Euro12 per for quaffing in our hotel room. Oaky, big but quite lush, ripe blue berries, long peppery finish. B+
There were many wines from the CVNE portfolio available for sale in their winery store. I picked up some 1998 Cune Imperial Gran Reserva for about Euro26 per (or US$39) and a couple of the 2001 Vina Real Oro Reserva for, iirc, Euro12 per bottle for quaffing in our hotel room.
Bodegas Heredad Ugarte, Paganos-Laguardia, Rioja Alavesa
We’ve done classic traditional tours at Muga and the ultra modern at Bodegas Vina Real (CVNE). Now it's time for … Disneyland!
It could have been the fake dolmens by the humongous rock-sign that read "Heredad Ugarte" on the large front lawn that immediately screamed out "Tour buses are welcome!". Once inside I saw what may have been the busiest tasting room that I've ever been in, as there were multiple groups of about 15-to-20 persons being given simultaneous tasting tours at various areas of the room.
The underground caves with small metal bars and gates, looking like burial grounds, but containing cob-webbed and very dusty bottles of Gran Reservas and old Martin Cendoya's reminded me of the Pirates of the Carribean ride in the Orange County Dineyland. The dark lighting effects and the 55-degree temperature made for a nice, spooky tour.
We were offered 2 wines to sample
2005 Heredad Ugarte Crianza
With this wine, the tasting included a nice larger-than-tapas-size good Spanish chorizo on a baguette. This, I figured, was necessary to compensate for this dark violet wine which had oak notes all over the place. B-
2003 Dominio de Ugarte Reserva
Black plum with violet tinges near the rim, nose of fruit and bacon, nice lushness, layers of blue fruit that at some point noted some ripe strawberries. Smooth and pretty good. B+
There were many wines and vintages available for purchase in the winery store and I decided, for posterity, to take home a bottle of the 2004 Martin Cendoya Reserva (Euro27 or US$40) that came packaged in its very nice OWC.
Ramon
Should have splurged!